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Stories from SlateHow Much Do Racehorses Pee?http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/recycled/2010/04/how_much_do_racehorses_pee.html
<p> <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/04/29/derby-horses-2010-crowded_n_557366.html"><em>Twenty horses are scheduled to compete</em></a><em> in Saturday's Kentucky Derby. The question everyone is dying to have answered before the Run for the Roses: How much are those racehorses going to pee? Thankfully,<strong> Slate</strong>'s Explainer tackled this question back in 2007. The original piece is reprinted below.</em></p>
<p> The third leg of horse racing's Triple Crown takes place on Saturday, with the running of the <a href="http://www.belmont-stakes.info/">Belmont Stakes</a>. Around 60,000 fans will be watching in Elmont, N.Y., as they put down beer and the track's <a href="http://www.belmont-stakes.info/belmont-breeze.php">signature cocktails</a>. Needless to say, they'll probably be peeing as much as the racehorses. Wait, how much does a racehorse pee?</p>
<p>A lot. Horses typically produce several quarts of urine every four hours, for a total of about 1.5 to 2 gallons per day. (By contrast, an adult male human pees 1 or 2 quarts per day.) The stream, usually one-third to a half-inch in diameter, can last up to 30 seconds. In general, the larger the animal, the more it pees. A Clydesdale, for example, weighs twice as much as a Thoroughbred and produces urine in greater volume (and with a more pungent smell). An average pasture horse that spends its day grazing might also beat a racehorse in a peeing match: Pasture grass contains a lot more water than the carefully prepared grains and pellets fed to racehorses.</p>
<p>The popular notion of incontinent racehorses seems to have roots in the late 1970s, when trainers began the widespread use of diuretics like Lasix (furosemide). Lasix inhibits the absorption of sodium and draws water into the bladder. This causes the horse to excrete more fluids, which could, in theory, make a horse lighter on its feet and faster on the track. Depending on the dose, a Lasix treatment could cause a horse to move several gallons of urine within an hour, which could translate to a quick drop of 10 pounds from a horse's body weight before a race.</p>
<p>It's not against the rules to dose a racehorse with Lasix, but its use is carefully regulated and abuse will result in a penalty. (In general, you're only allowed to use the drug to prevent internal bleeding during a race. You're not supposed to use it strictly as a diuretic.) Racing officials have run drug tests on competitors since 1903, and today they take blood and urine samples before every race. At the Kentucky Derby and most other major races, competitors using Lasix are allowed to compete, but they're marked with an <em>L</em> on the programs.</p>
<p>Got a question about today's news? <a href="mailto:ask_the_explainer@yahoo.com">Ask the Explainer</a>.</p>
<p><em>Explainer thanks Sue McDonnell at the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine, Hal Schott at Michigan State University's Department of Large Animal Clinical Sciences, and Thomas Tobin at the University of Kentucky's Gluck Equine Research Center.</em></p>
<p><em>Like&nbsp;<strong> <a href="http://www.facebook.com/Slate">Slate</a> &nbsp;</strong>and the </em> <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Slate-Explainer/58014897861"><em>Explainer</em></a> &nbsp;<em>on Facebook. Follow us on </em> <a href="http://www.twitter.com/Slate"><em>Twitter</em></a><em>.</em></p>Fri, 30 Apr 2010 11:04:00 GMThttp://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/recycled/2010/04/how_much_do_racehorses_pee.htmlDavid Sessions2010-04-30T11:04:00ZHorses really do possess great powers of urination.News and PoliticsThe racehorse's extraordinary peeing power.2252510David SessionsRecycledhttp://www.slate.com/id/2252510falsefalsefalseThe Pentagon Names Nameshttp://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/todays_papers/2009/08/the_pentagon_names_names.html
<p>The <em>New York Times</em> leads with the Pentagon's decision to <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/23/world/middleeast/23detain.html?ref=todayspaper">release the names of detainees</a> held at secret camps in Iraq and Afghanistan to the Red Cross. The military previously insisted that the detainees' identities be kept classified for fear they could jeopardize counterterrorism efforts. The <em> <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/print/">Washington Post</a></em> leads with an unprecedented government effort in the works to <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/08/22/AR2009082202337.html?hpid=topnews">vaccinate half of the U.S. population</a> against swine flu &quot;within months.&quot; More than 2,800 local health departments are gathering medical personnel and developing strategies to reach as many as possible. The <em> <a href="http://www.latimes.com/">Los Angeles Times</a></em>leads with California legislators having a difficult time <a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-prisons23-2009aug23,0,7630901.story">slashing the required $1.2 billion</a> from the state's ailing prison system. Federal courts ordered California to reduce its prison population by 40,000, and the state's ongoing budget crisis makes deep cuts a fiscal necessity.</p>
<p>Red Cross efforts to obtain the names of detainees held at two Special Operations prisons in Iraq and Afghanistan have long been for naught, but the U.S. military <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/23/world/middleeast/23detain.html?ref=todayspaper">has finally agreed</a> to hand over the information. The new tack from the Pentagon, which came without a formal announcement, indicates a shift in detention policy in keeping with the Obama administration's promise to close the military prison at Guantanamo Bay by the end of the year. It also foreshadows a week where detainees and interrogations are likely to dominate the news: On Monday, the C.I.A. will <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/23/us/politics/23cia.html?ref=todayspaper">release a long-awaited, critical report</a> on its own interrogation techniques, and Attorney Gen. Eric Holder is expected to decide whether or not to begin a criminal investigation into C.I.A. interrogation policy after September 11, 2001.</p>
<p>Public health officials are <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/08/22/AR2009082202337.html?hpid=topnews">cooking up a plan</a> for what one professor says is &quot;potentially the largest mass-vaccination program in human history&quot;—a sweeping effort to&nbsp;protect Americans against H1N1, the first influenza pandemic the country has faced in 41 years. The number of cases could spike within the next few weeks as schools and colleges reopen, but vaccination efforts are still fraught with uncertainty. Scientists are &quot;rushing&quot; to test the vaccine for safety, but they still don't know how many shots people will need and what dosages should be. The campaign will not move forward until the results of clinical trials are in; the government is being cautious to avoid a repeat of a 1976 vaccination effort that caused more&nbsp;illness than it prevented.</p>
<p>The <em>LAT </em>reports that the clock is ticking on the U.S.'s <a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-chemical23-2009aug23,0,2941213.story">remaining stockpile of chemical weapons</a>, which it is internationally obligated to destroy by 2012. Construction on the facility to destroy&nbsp;an arsenal of deadly gases in Kentucky has been endlessly delayed, and the Pentagon notified Congress in May that even on an accelerated schedule the job will not be done until 2021. The Army holds chemical weapons at six locations, four of which are currently incinerating their stockpiles. The Kentucky site is the most difficult operation because the weapons &quot;are loaded in highly explosive M55 rockets and corroding, fully armed munitions.&quot;</p>
<p>Tom Daschle may have withdrawn his nomination to be President Obama's &quot;health czar,&quot; but he's still a key player in the debate over reform. A <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/23/health/policy/23daschle.html?ref=todayspaper"><em>NYT </em>front-pager</a> reports that Daschle has met regularly with the president, and a &quot;highly paid policy advisor&quot; to Alston &amp; Bird, a legal and lobbying firm with powerful health industry clients. Democrats are moving toward a health care solution centered on nonprofit insurance co-ops, a plan Daschle has promoted and that &quot;happens to dovetail with the interests of many Alston &amp; Bird clients.&quot;</p>
<p>Cartels that smuggle illegal immigrants across the U.S.-Mexico border have realized they can extort money from other undocumented residents: their customers' relatives. A <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/08/22/AR2009082202356.html">gripping <em>WP </em>story</a> reports that cartels have called family members demanding ransom, forcing them to pay up or make an equally frightening call to U.S. immigration officials. </p>
<p>A front-page <em>LAT </em>story suggests that <a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-sci-junk-food-tax23-2009aug23,0,5244082.story">support for a junk-food tax</a> is growing among the American population, though no one in Congress has endorsed it. According to a poll, 55 percent of Americans support a ban on &quot;unhealthful snack foods,&quot; and &quot;63 percent of those who opposed the idea said they would change their minds if the revenue were used to fund healthcare reform and combat health problems related to obesity.&quot; Junk-food taxes are &quot;a no-brainer&quot; to many health experts, but the numbers suggest they're not as effective as other &quot;sin taxes&quot; because it's easy to switch to an untaxed alternative.</p>
<p>Well made big-budget movies for adults are disappearing, according to <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/08/20/AR2009082004479.html">a trend piece</a> in the <em>WP </em>&quot;Style&quot; section. &quot;High-end, relatively sophisticated movies made with glossy production values and well-paid stars&quot; are becoming scarcer because their actors' salaries and marketing campaigns eat up so much of the studios' profits. Movies tied to an already-successful book or video game—or better yet sequels in already-successful movie franchises—are less of a financial gamble and more likely to get a green light.</p>
<p><strong><em>Slate </em></strong>contributor Robert Wright <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/23/opinion/23wright.html?ref=todayspaper">suggests a compromise</a> between militant atheists and religious believers, who are both wrong about the conflict between science and religion for the same reason. &quot;Believers could scale back their conception of God's role in creation, and atheists could accept that some notions of 'higher purpose' are compatible with scientific materialism. And the two might learn to get along.&quot;</p>
<p><em>NYT </em>ombudsman Clark Hoyt <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/23/opinion/23pubed.html?ref=todayspaper">responds</a> to a deluge of mail complaining that a recent <em>Times </em>story seemed to mock J.C. Penney's first store in New York City.</p>Sun, 23 Aug 2009 08:21:00 GMThttp://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/todays_papers/2009/08/the_pentagon_names_names.htmlDavid Sessions2009-08-23T08:21:00ZNews and PoliticsThe&nbsp;Pentagon releases detainee names to the Red Cross.2226035David SessionsToday's Papershttp://www.slate.com/id/2226035falsefalsefalseA Dicey Situationhttp://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/other_magazines/2009/08/a_dicey_situation.html
<p><strong><em> Time</em></strong>, Aug. 24 The <a href="http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1915962-1,00.html">cover story</a> surveys how the recession has devastated Las Vegas. The once-booming city is now dotted with unfinished hotels and visited by travelers paying deeply discounted rates. Casino owners lost financing for the multibillion-dollar projects, residents are abandoning the mortgages of their now-valueless homes, and strippers are taking online classes to compete with the thousands of unemployed women flooding into town. It adds up to huge trouble for the Nevada government, which depends almost completely on the city for tax revenue. <strong>…</strong> An <a href="http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1916299,00.html">article</a> observes that as the majority of job losses have come in male-dominated industries, men's unemployment could produce significant cultural effects. While there are no historical instances of men handing an economy over to women, there do exist plenty of examples in which &quot;women do all the arduous work while men sit around smoking and pontificating in coffeehouses and barbershops.&quot;</p>
<p><strong><em> Economist</em></strong>, Aug. 15 The <a href="http://www.economist.com/opinion/displaystory.cfm?story_id=14214001">cover story</a> charts the &quot;astonishing&quot; recovery of Asian economies, which grew an average of 10 percent in the second quarter of this year. Asian countries entered the recession with &quot;far healthier government finances&quot; than wealthy Western nations, and their stimulus packages were bigger and worked faster. The piece warns that they should remain cautious to prevent credit inflation and price bubbles. One way to do that is to let their currencies rise against the U.S. dollar. <strong>…</strong> An <a href="http://www.economist.com/businessfinance/displaystory.cfm?story_id=14214847">article</a> predicts that America's rejection of the land line will end up costing more than just telecom companies: Rising prices will hurt businesses that require land lines, and the absence of a telephone &quot;grid&quot; will complicate the work of emergency services. Plus, &quot;cell-phone onlys&quot; complicate polling, as they're almost twice as expensive to reach. Regulators will eventually have to decide if bailing out telecom companies is necessary to keep public services that depend on their telephone lines flowing.</p>
<p><strong><em> New York Times Magazine</em></strong>, Aug. 16 The cover story chronicles the making of <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001UQ704C?ie=UTF8&amp;tag=slatmaga-20&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=390957&amp;creativeASIN=B001UQ704C">The Beatles: Rock Band</a>, which Apple Corps, the band's proprietary company, believes will bring the Beatles experience to the 21<sup>st</sup> century. The two remaining Beatles played a &quot;watchdog&quot; role in the production, which required reconciling historical accuracy with what makes for a rewarding gaming experience. In the end, everyone settled for a streamlined, &quot;mythologized&quot; version of the Beatles' career that omitted disastrous performances and band fights. <strong>…</strong> An article interviews several women arrested for attempted suicide bombings in Iraq. Sixty women carried out suicide bombings in the country in 2007-08—so many that police have been compelled to develop a nuanced understanding of the phenomenon. They insist the women and their motivations are too disparate to compare, but some patterns exist: &quot;Many have lost close male relatives. Many … live in isolated communities dominated by extremists, where radical understandings of Islam are the norm.&quot;</p>
<p><strong><em> The Nation</em></strong>, Aug. 31 The <a href="http://www.thenation.com/doc/20090831/dreier">cover story</a> follows a feud between the Service Employees International Union and Unite Here, a smaller union that claims SEIU poached between 105,000 and 150,000 of its members. As leaders of Unite and HERE began clashing a few years into their organizations' merger, SEIU began targeting its members in Los Angeles and Detroit with leaflets and robocalls. In retaliation, Unite Here blanketed Bay Area factories with literature. Several top labor figures are calling for a cease-fire for the sake of the broader labor movement. <strong>…</strong> An <a href="http://www.thenation.com/doc/20090831/barber">article</a> argues that public spaces are intentional artistic creations and are more than just places that forbid cars. Public spaces should be imaginative and suggestive—people should be inspired to use them in certain ways without being forced to do so. Removing the traffic is the easy part; envisioning something to replace it with is where the art begins.</p>
<p><strong><em> GQ</em></strong>, August 2009 A <a href="http://men.style.com/gq/features/landing?id=content_9977">profile</a> of Quentin Tarantino discovers all of the forms his new film, <em>Inglourious Basterds</em>, could have taken instead of being made into a movie: a novel, a 12-episode miniseries. The script has generated numerous rumors over the many years he's been working on it—some said it had run more than 600 pages, others that it was tearing his life apart. Tarantino says it all came easy once he decided to make it a film. <strong>…</strong> A <a href="http://men.style.com/gq/features/full?id=content_9957&amp;pageNum=1">profile</a> of Channing Tatum visits the actor's family in rural Alabama, where there is &quot;much angst&quot; over what to wear to his upcoming wedding in Malibu, Calif. Someone demands to know if Tatum voted for Obama, and the family reacts with horror when he says he did. He'd better not tell anyone, they warn. &quot;I don't care,&quot; Tatum replies. &quot;If they don't like me because I voted for Obama, then fuck them. I like horses and I like Obama. Nothin' wrong with that.&quot;</p>
<p><strong>Must Read</strong><em><br />Texas Monthly</em>'s retelling of an undercover investigation into dogfighting is magazine narrative at its best. </p>
<p><strong>Must Skip</strong><em><br />The Nation</em>'s <a href="http://www.thenation.com/doc/20090831/dreier">cover story</a> on a difficult-to-grasp feud between two unions probably won't make much sense unless you're in one of them.</p>
<p><strong>Best Politics Piece</strong><em><br />Esquire</em>'s <a href="http://www.esquire.com/features/abortion-doctor-warren-hern-0909">profile</a> of Warren Hern gets a rare look inside the conscience of a late-term abortionist.</p>
<p><strong>Best Culture Piece</strong><br />If you read one piece on <em>Mad Men</em>, make it <em>Vanity Fair</em>'s vivid <a href="http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/features/2009/09/mad-men200909">dispatch</a> from the show's detail-obsessed set.</p>
<p><strong>Least Annoying Celebrity Profile</strong><em><br />GQ</em>'s <a href="http://men.style.com/gq/features/full?id=content_9957&amp;pageNum=1">profile</a> of Channing Tatum eschews ponderous fawning for sympathetic but unsparing observation.</p>Fri, 14 Aug 2009 20:48:00 GMThttp://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/other_magazines/2009/08/a_dicey_situation.htmlDavid Sessions2009-08-14T20:48:00ZTime on how the recession is killing Las Vegas.News and PoliticsWhat's new in the Economist, the New York Times Magazine, and The Nation.2225290David SessionsOther Magazineshttp://www.slate.com/id/2225290falsefalsefalseLast Man Standinghttp://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/other_magazines/2009/08/last_man_standing.html
<p><strong><em> Esquire,</em></strong> September 2009 An <a href="http://www.esquire.com/features/abortion-doctor-warren-hern-0909">article</a> profiles the last man in America still performing risky late-term abortions. Warren Hern practices behind walls of bulletproof glass and talks about the people who earlier this year killed his friend and fellow late-term abortionist George Tiller. &quot;It's a violent terrorist movement, and they have a fascist ideology.&quot; Hern believes helping women whose babies have serious or fatal deformities—not people who accidentally got pregnant and waited to abort—is &quot;the most important thing I could do in medicine.&quot;<strong>… </strong> An article describes the painful psychological effects of going without solid food. The author, who has Crohn's disease, subsisted for two months on total parenteral nutrition—&quot;a mixed bag of nutritional fluids&quot;—while feeling an intense hunger he eventually realized was more mental than physical. His taste buds disappeared, and when his doctor allowed him to eat again, &quot;there [was] no sensation of hunger or feelings of digestion or satiation.&quot;</p>
<p><strong><em> Atlantic</em></strong>, September 2009 The <a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200909/health-care">cover story</a> rages against the incentives that &quot;inexorably generate terrible and perverse results&quot; from the U.S. health care system. Health <em>care</em> is emphasized over actual health, and the system is set up in a &quot;generational pyramid scheme&quot; to disguise true costs and discourage competition. Insurance is &quot;an expensive and wasteful absurdity.&quot; Most people should pay for health care like they do for everything else, and the government should focus exclusively on protecting the poor and enforcing safety standards. <strong>…</strong> A <a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200909/tarantino-nazis">profile</a> of Quentin Tarantino calls the filmmaker's upcoming movie, which depicts Jews scalping Nazis and carving swastikas into their foreheads, &quot;kosher porn.&quot; Tarantino thinks that no fictional torture is too extreme for the Nazis and that most Holocaust films are too thoughtful. (&quot;I hate that hand-wringing shit.&quot;) <em>Inglourious Basterds </em> is Tarantino's first movie based on historical events, which might be what makes his &quot;anti-Nazi excesses&quot; disturbing.</p>
<p><strong><em> Texas</em></strong><strong><em> Monthly</em>, September 2009</strong> An <a href="http://www.texasmonthly.com/2009-08-01/feature3.php">article</a> tells the story of two Houston cops who infiltrated the city's underground world of dogfighting. The pair was uninterested in the investigation until an informant told them about a &quot;new generation of inner-city black dogmen&quot; who shot up their pit bulls with cocaine and unabashedly killed weak performers. The cops realized they wouldn't have a chance of getting close to the dogmen without joining the ring themselves. &quot;The Dog House,&quot; an abandoned warehouse they set up to hold fights, lured legendary dogfighters from all across and even outside Texas. <strong>…</strong> An article examines criticism of Sharon Keller, presiding judge of the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals. Keller infamously denied a death row inmate a final appeal because his lawyers' technical problems kept them from submitting it before her office closed for the day. She now faces trial for the incident despite overwhelming proof of the inmate's guilt.</p>
<p><strong><em> Vanity Fair</em></strong>, September 2009 An <a href="http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/features/2009/09/mad-men200909">article</a> visits the obsessive set of <em>Mad Men</em>, where writer-creator Matthew Weiner throws out fruit if it looks too plump and perfect to have existed in the 1960s. Weiner's knowledge of '60s cultural details stuns his crew, several of whom say he must have spent his entire life waiting to make the show. Much of <em>Mad Men</em>'s creative tension stems from Weiner's personal demons: &quot;Anytime you can have a character wanting something and not wanting something, I feel like I'm in my life.&quot;<strong>…</strong> The cover story re-creates Farah Fawcett's final days with Ryan O'Neal, her partner of 30 years. By her bedside, O'Neal resorted to gallows humor, asking her, &quot;What's the combination of the safe?&quot; Now, he's filled with regret about their relationship and their troubled son. &quot;I wish I could do it over with her. I would have been much kinder, more understanding, more mature.&quot;</p>
<p><strong><em> Weekly Standard</em></strong>, Aug. 17 An <a href="http://weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/016/820nkztg.asp">article</a> declares that Afghanistan is not a disaster—&quot;it's much, much worse.&quot; Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the new U.S. commander in Afghanistan, is expected to request a troop increase later this month. Obama campaigned on promises to redouble efforts in Afghanistan, but the White House has made it clear that requests for troop increases are most unwelcome. (Bob Woodward recently quoted National Security Adviser James Jones as saying the administration would meet such requests with &quot;WTF?&quot;) McChrystal is poised to defy the president's implied wishes and, since he has the ear of Gen. David Petraeus, could create an awkward situation for Obama. <strong>…</strong> An <a href="http://weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/016/822zxukw.asp">editorial</a> argues that the Democrats' plans for remaking health care have failed because they insist on overhauling—and thus centralizing—the entire system, rather than implementing targeted reforms: &quot;Inevitably, the result is a project too large, too complicated, too expensive, and too disruptive to succeed. And the public knows it.&quot;</p>Tue, 11 Aug 2009 21:04:00 GMThttp://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/other_magazines/2009/08/last_man_standing.htmlDavid Sessions2009-08-11T21:04:00ZEsquire on America's lone late-term abortion doctor.News and PoliticsWhat's new in Vanity Fair, the Atlantic, and Texas Monthly.2224911David SessionsOther Magazineshttp://www.slate.com/id/2224911falsefalsefalseCruel and Unusualhttp://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/other_magazines/2009/08/cruel_and_unusual.html
<p> <strong><em>Economist</em>, Aug. 8<br /></strong> The <a href="http://www.economist.com/displaystory.cfm?story_id=14164614">cover story</a> calls America's harsh punishment of sex offenders &quot;unjust and ineffective.&quot; In multiple instances, high-schoolers have been convicted for having consensual sex with their underage sweethearts and forced to enter the public registry for life. Others have been harassed in their homes and even murdered. Though the United States' harsh laws have little effect—recidivism rates are high and public registries have not reduced rates of offense at all—other countries are now copying a trend that has careened out of control. <strong>…</strong> An <a href="http://www.economist.com/world/unitedstates/displaystory.cfm?story_id=14177435">article</a> charts the rise of home-schooling in the United States. The number of children who are home-schooled—1.5 million—has doubled in the past decade, and 83 percent of home-schooling families do so for religious or moral reasons. The Internet has helped home-schoolers communicate and share materials, and having Barack Obama in the White House may motivate more conservatives to take their children out of public schools.</p>
<p><strong><em> New York Times Magazine</em></strong>, Aug. 9 The cover story profiles Afghan President Hamid Karzai, who is currently running for re-election. Numerous members of his administration are openly involved in drug trafficking, and his controversial running mate has led critics to dub it &quot;the warlord ticket.&quot; Seven years into his presidency, Karzai is weary of the job and tired of Western nations pressuring him to remove people—sometime the most honest ones—from his Cabinet. In a move to represent the exasperated Afghan people, he even tried to hold administration officials accountable for past war crimes. They managed to pardon themselves, and Karzai is always left saying, &quot;What can I do?&quot;<strong>…</strong> An article examines the legal battle besieging Philadelphia's two remaining daily newspapers, the <em>Inquirer </em> and the <em>Daily News</em>, which have $400 million in combined debt and may soon be shuttered. Both papers are now locally owned, and their champions are fighting to keep &quot;quality journalism&quot; in town.</p>
<p><strong><em></em></strong>, Aug. 17 An <a href="http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1914973,00.html">article</a> argues that President Obama's health care plan is full of fatal paradoxes: The system must change but everyone can keep what they like of the old one; the plan will somehow expand coverage while cutting costs; it's crucial to get it right but must be passed hastily. The Democrats have obsessed over avoiding Clinton's health care mistakes but have missed the most crucial one: a plan that's too riddled with contradictions to make any sense. It's no wonder they're having trouble selling it. <strong>…</strong> An <a href="http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1912685,00.html">article</a> reports that topless sunbathing has fallen out of fashion with the young French women who used to champion it. French newspapers first noticed that topless women were difficult to find on the beaches these days, and surveys have confirmed it: 88 percent of young women in France describe themselves as &quot;modest&quot; or &quot;prudish.&quot;<strong>…</strong> The <a href="http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1914857,00.html">cover story</a> claims that exercise isn't the best way to lose weight.</p>
<p><strong><em> Christianity Today</em></strong>, August 2009 The <a href="http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2009/august/16.22.htm">cover story</a> advocates early marriage for young couples on the grounds that evangelicals &quot;have made much ado about sex but are becoming slow and lax about marriage.&quot; Americans—including evangelicals—are marrying later, and it is &quot;unreasonable&quot; to expect abstinence long past the age people are biologically ready for marriage. Christians have held fast to a conservative view of sexuality, but their ideas about marriage have become a &quot;nebulous hodgepodge of pragmatic norms.&quot; Churches should stop resisting reality and remove punitive barriers—for example, some parents will withhold financial support—to people who want to marry in their early 20s. <strong>…</strong> An <a href="http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2009/august/24.20.html?start=1">editorial</a> argues that America's much-criticized megachurches are &quot;not so much an aberrant form of church as a large, flashing icon of the American church.&quot; Megachurches attract great numbers and a young demographic because they facilitate spiritual consumerism, but many smaller churches have similar &quot;strategies and programs&quot; and talk about &quot;meeting spiritual needs.&quot;</p>
<p><strong><em> Rolling Stone</em></strong>, Aug. 20 The <a href="http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/story/29551986/barack_obama_so_far">cover story</a>, a round table with Paul Krugman, David Gergen, and Michael Moore, assesses the Obama presidency so far. &quot;If health care passes and the economy recovers, then Obama is the new FDR,&quot; Krugman says. &quot;If not, he's Jimmy Carter.&quot;<strong>…</strong> An article catches up with Blink-182, about to tour for the first time since a bitter public breakup in 2005. After drummer Travis Barker was severely burned in a plane crash last year, the trio began working through their disagreements. &quot;We had two gnarly heart-to-hearts, really opened up and said a lot of things,&quot; bassist Mark Hoppus explains. <strong>… </strong> A four-star review of the Arctic Monkeys' third release, <em>Humbug</em>, says the band has gotten heavier, taking inspiration from Black Sabbath and Queens of the Stone Age. The lyrics are still full of wry observations of &quot;how people work hard to screw up their lives.&quot;</p>
<p><strong>Must Read<br /></strong>A <em>Time</em> <a href="http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1914973,00.html">column</a> makes the common-sense observation that Obama's health care plan can't survive while championing so many conflicting goals.</p>
<p><strong>Must Skip<br /></strong>A big-name author doesn't save <em>Newsweek</em>'s stunningly vacuous <a href="http://www.newsweek.com/id/209828">cover story</a>.</p>
<p><strong>Best Politics Piece<br /></strong>An <em>Economist</em> <a href="http://www.economist.com/displaystory.cfm?story_id=14164614">article</a> presents a thorough overview of the excesses of U.S. sex-offender laws.<strong>&nbsp;</strong></p>
<p><strong>Best Culture Piece<br /></strong>The <em>New York Times Magazine</em>'s story about Philadelphia's debt-ridden newspapers is a sad read for anyone in a city facing complete newspaper extinction.</p>
<p><strong>Most Overdue Expos&eacute;<br /></strong>A <em>New Yorker </em> <a href="http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2009/08/10/090810fa_fact_seabrook">article</a> finally sheds some light on a monopolistic live music industry that fans has been infuriating fans for years.</p>Fri, 07 Aug 2009 21:21:00 GMThttp://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/other_magazines/2009/08/cruel_and_unusual.htmlDavid Sessions2009-08-07T21:21:00ZThe Economist on America's exceptionally harsh sex-offender laws.News and PoliticsWhat's new in Time, New York Times Magazine, and Rolling Stone.2224421David SessionsOther Magazineshttp://www.slate.com/id/2224421falsefalsefalseFull Court Presshttp://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/other_magazines/2009/08/full_court_press.html
<p><strong><em> New York</em></strong><strong>, Aug. 10</strong> The <a href="http://nymag.com/news/politics/58199/index.html">cover story</a> argues that President Obama's media ubiquity is a critical aspect of his presidency. &quot;He recognizes that, in the same way a blog can't survive on just one post a day, a presidency can no longer survive on one message per day or one press conference per year.&quot; Republicans complain that he never stays on one issue long enough to attack. But his media strategy is complex: Despite the saturation, he's most at home giving deeply framed speeches and has an almost manipulative relationship with the White House press corps. <strong>…</strong> An <a href="http://nymag.com/news/intelligencer/58190/">article</a> wonders about &quot;Jewish exceptionalism&quot; in light of Bernie Madoff and the rabbis recently arrested in a New Jersey corruption scandal. Jews' stereotypical &quot;famous&quot; talents seem to work for both good and bad, but the most exceptional part is that &quot;the sight of a Jewish criminal on the front page gives heartburn to Jews comprehensively disconnected from the crimes.&quot;</p>
<p><strong><em> The New Yorker</em></strong>, Aug. 10 &amp; 17 An <a href="http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2009/08/10/090810fa_fact_seabrook">article</a> investigates the &quot;dysfunctional&quot; live music industry. Music lovers despise both corporate ticket giants, Live Nation and Ticketmaster, sending their brand names and stock prices into the ground. The ascent of live music from a regional, nonprofitable operation to a global cash cow has fueled a cycle of profit-generating schemes that anger fans, then, in turn, hurt profits. <strong>… </strong> Malcolm Gladwell <a href="http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2009/08/10/090810fa_fact_gladwell?currentPage=all">compares the &quot;friends and neighbors&quot; racial populism</a> of Southerners like James Folsom, governor of Alabama in the 1950s, with &quot;liberalism in the form of an urgent demand for formal equality.&quot; Atticus Finch, the hero of <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0060935464?ie=UTF8&amp;tag=slatmaga-20&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=390957&amp;creativeASIN=0060935464"><em>To Kill a Mockingbird</em></a>, was more like the former: He didn't attack white prejudice but suggested that the privileged take a more &quot;humanitarian&quot; approach toward blacks. The formal civil rights movement ended Folsom's career, because it looked for justice through the law rather than &quot;hearts and minds.&quot;</p>
<p><strong><em> Newsweek</em></strong>, Aug. 10 In the <a href="http://www.newsweek.com/id/209828">cover story</a>, novelist Walter Mosley writes that crime fiction holds timeless appeal for Americans because it helps us forget the hazy complexity of the modern world. Crime-driven forms of entertainment invite us to imagine how we might respond in similarly malevolent situations. They provide honorable heroes and a clear place to lay the blame, a welcome alternative from the anonymous, vaguely menacing forces that cause our collective unease: &quot;We need them to cleanse the modern world from our souls.&quot;<strong>…</strong> A <a href="http://www.newsweek.com/id/209440">column</a> wonders whether Francis Collins is a &quot;good enough scientist&quot; to head the National Institutes of Health. Collins' Christian faith, a flash point in the scientific community, does not disqualify him, and there is no evidence that he has shied away from scientific reasoning. His openness about his religion will work to President Obama's advantage if Collins can stand up to the pressure that is sure to come from the faithful.</p>
<p><strong><em> Weekly Standard</em></strong>, Aug. 10 The <a href="http://weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/016/798lxisv.asp">cover story</a> calls David Kessler's new book <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1605297852?ie=UTF8&amp;tag=slatmaga-20&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=390957&amp;creativeASIN=1605297852"><em>The End of Overeating</em></a>&quot;a case study in progressive paternalism.&quot; Kessler reduces human beings to their biology by suggesting they're slaves to their culinary urges and must be protected from corporate manipulation. &quot;He's giving us an inside look at the thinking that leads a person in power to scan his citizens and reconceive their private failings, individual preferences, or personal indulgences as pressing matters of state, and thus fit for government correction.&quot;<strong>…</strong> An <a href="http://weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/016/799hlime.asp">article</a> warns that Obama's Justice Department &quot;is politicizing the department in ways the Bush team never imagined.&quot; Attorney General Eric Holder challenged the department's long-held view that D.C. cannot be given voting rights by statute, asking the solicitor general whether he would back the administration if it decided to champion D.C. voting rights. The Justice Department is also covering up a case of &quot;egregious&quot; voter intimidation by the New Black Panthers last November.</p>
<p><strong><em> Reason</em></strong>, August/September 2009 The <a href="http://www.reason.com/news/show/134480.html">cover package</a> denounces the federal takeover of Detroit: &quot;Not only will this White House seize any company it deems to pose a 'systemic risk' to the economy, but it will do so without regard to restraint, to the law, or to basic economic principles.&quot; The government's loans to automakers were illegal and a sign that Obama has not repudiated his predecessor's abuses of executive power. The president's softness on corporations is contradictory to his party's basic ideals. Worst of all, the strategy is doomed to fail. <strong>…</strong> An <a href="http://www.reason.com/news/show/134484.html">interview</a> with a disaster researcher explores how people create their own media during a crisis. Public officials often hold back information to avoid &quot;panic,&quot; but what they perceive as panic is often just people trying to understand what's happening. And the benefit citizen journalists provide&nbsp;is the local knowledge they possess that&nbsp;no major media outlet can compete with.</p>Tue, 04 Aug 2009 22:00:00 GMThttp://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/other_magazines/2009/08/full_court_press.htmlDavid Sessions2009-08-04T22:00:00ZNew York on President Obama's complex media strategy.News and PoliticsWhat's new in Newsweek, The New Yorker, and Reason.2224311David SessionsOther Magazineshttp://www.slate.com/id/2224311falsefalsefalseComing Out&nbsp;of the Nosedivehttp://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/todays_papers/2009/08/coming_outof_the_nosedive.html
<p>The <em> <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/pages/todayspaper/index.html">New York Times</a></em> and the <em> <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/print/index.html">Washington Post</a></em> lead with, and the <em> <a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/front/">Los Angeles Times</a></em>and <em> <a href="http://online.wsj.com/page/us_in_todays_paper.html">Wall Street Journal</a></em>front, the government's announcement that the U.S. economy contracted at a much slower pace in&nbsp;the second quarter of 2009, laying ground for growth in the next half of the year. The <em>LAT </em>leads with a House committee's 31-28 <a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-healthcare-house1-2009aug01,0,7261961.story">passage of a health care bill</a> that sets the price tag at $1 trillion over 10 years and incorporates conservatives' demands for more exemptions. The <em>WSJ </em>leads with the House's <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124903908261696593.html#mod=testMod">other major accomplishment</a> of yesterday afternoon: a motion to put $2 billion into a car-repurchase program known as &quot;cash for clunkers.&quot;</p>
<p>The United States' gross domestic product <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/31/AR2009073101350.html">shrunk only 1 percent</a> from April-June, a decrease of more than 5 percent from the first quarter and a slight improvement on <a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-fi-econ1-2009aug01,0,4407127.story">predictions of a 1.5 percent</a> contraction. The smaller contraction means the economy will likely grow in the second half of this year, but all the papers worry that consumer spending, responsible for about 70 percent of all economic activity, will remain on lockdown. The upturn is mostly the work of an 11 percent increase in government spending, a reality the <em>NYT </em>observes <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/01/business/economy/01econ.html?ref=todayspaper">could wear on President Obama</a> and the Democrats if they have to keep spending to fuel the recovery. And there's no good news on the job front yet: Double-digit unemployment looms for at least several more months.</p>
<p>All four papers give prime placement to Congress' emergency salvation of &quot;cash for clunkers,&quot; a new program that offers consumers up to $4,500 to give up their old car for a more fuel-efficient model. The program &quot;burned through&quot; <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124903908261696593.html#mod=testMod">$1 billion in its first week</a>, as dealers experienced a surge in sales but had technical difficulties reporting them through the Department of Transportation's Web site. It was originally scheduled to run through October.</p>
<p>In another significant move in the House yesterday, a health care bill emerged from the energy and commerce committee that is &quot;sure to draw fire from a variety of interests, but also shows the beginnings of a consensus,&quot; the <em>NYT</em> <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/01/health/policy/01health.html?ref=todayspaper">reports</a>. Voting after 9 p.m. last night,&nbsp;five Democrats joined all 23 Republicans in opposing the bill. Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Mich., complained that members of his party were only allowed to &quot;pick the color of the lipstick on this pig.&quot; Democrats will now &quot;fan out&quot; over the country <a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-healthcare-house1-2009aug01,0,7261961.story">to help Obama sell the plan</a> during the August recess, hoping to combat the impression that the overhaul is a government takeover. </p>
<p>In a separate front-page story, the <em>WP </em>reports on <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/31/AR2009073103148.html">a conservative talk-radio campaign</a> to brand the Obama proposal as &quot;death care.&quot; Obama has called for controls on excessive medical bills, and right-wing pundits are telling listeners that his plan to counsel senior citizens about cost-effective treatment amounts to &quot;euthanasia.&quot;</p>
<p>A <em>WSJ </em>essay dives into the growing tensions between the United States and Israel, indicated by the fact that only 6 percent of Israelis view President Obama as &quot;pro-Israel,&quot; while 88 percent saw George W. Bush that way. The relationship has always had its share of friction, but now Iran forms the core of Israel's nervousness. Obama is trying out a pro-engagement critique of the Bush administration that Israel sees as naive. &quot;U.S.-Israel tension will grow as Israel watches the clock tick and sees its options narrowed to two: live with an Iranian bomb, or strike Iran soon to delay its program long enough for real political change.&quot;</p>
<p>The <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/01/business/media/01feud.html?hp">heavily blogged feud</a> between MSNBC's Keith Olbermann and Fox News Channel's Bill O'Reilly was so intense that network executives had to step in and pull the two apart. Officials from both networks attended a Charlie Rose-hosted meeting in May to defuse tensions between their channels. The feud increased ratings for both prime-time shows, but executives were apparently relieved to have it behind them.</p>
<p>For only the second time in 140 years, the temperature <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/01/nyregion/01hot.html?scp=1&amp;sq=summer%20that%20isn%27t&amp;st=cse">failed to reach 90 degrees</a> in New York City in June or July. If August follows a similar pattern, this will be the city's coolest summer on record.</p>
<p>A <em>NYT </em> <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/01/opinion/01sat3.html?ref=todayspaper">editorial</a> argues that President Obama and Congress have &quot;an obligation to make a down payment on high-speed-rail corridors across the nation.&quot;</p>Sat, 01 Aug 2009 09:54:00 GMThttp://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/todays_papers/2009/08/coming_outof_the_nosedive.htmlDavid Sessions2009-08-01T09:54:00ZNews and PoliticsThe papers on the economy's second-quarter recovery.2224144David SessionsToday's Papershttp://www.slate.com/id/2224144falsefalsefalseFierce Urgencyhttp://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/other_magazines/2009/07/fierce_urgency.html
<p><strong><em>Economist</em>, Aug. 1<br /></strong>The <a href="http://www.economist.com/opinion/displayStory.cfm?story_id=14121752&amp;source=hptextfeature">cover story</a> argues that President Obama &quot;must come down from his cloud and start leading.&quot; Sagging poll numbers and stalled proposals show that Americans and Congress alike are growing weary of the president's &quot;vague statements&quot; and heavy spending. Obama has given congressional Democrats too much control and failed to substantially negotiate with Republicans. He has handled foreign policy well, but &quot;if his schemes at home come to naught, then his credibility abroad will wither.&quot; <strong>…</strong> An <a href="http://www.economist.com/world/international/displaystory.cfm?story_id=14121716">article</a> examines the &quot;chilling effect&quot; of torture on American and British intelligence. Obama has attempted to move on, but &quot;the past casts a long shadow.&quot; Increased scrutiny in both countries has caused intelligence officials to worry about sharing information with one another for fear that their secrets will come out in legal probes. This new sensitivity reveals &quot;the extent to which torture and other forms of harsh interrogation cloud the legitimate work of counter-terrorism.&quot;</p>
<p><strong><em>Time</em>, Aug. 10<br /></strong>The <a href="http://www.time.com/time/politics/article/0,8599,1913623,00.html">cover story</a> describes President Obama's frustration with trying to clearly explain health care. &quot;This has been the most difficult test for me so far in public life,&quot; he confesses. He has gotten this far because he has delayed dealing with the controversial decisions of who should pay for reform and how much the government should be involved. In the next three months, he will need &quot;fresh legislative moves&quot; for the cornerstone of his agenda to succeed. <strong>…</strong> An <a href="http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1912941,00.html">article</a> reports on phase two of the resistance in Iran: boycotts of products advertised on state television, orchestrated attempts to trip Tehran's electrical grid, and impromptu protest chants that disperse before they can be stopped. Some companies have cut back advertising, stores have dropped unpopular brands, and a state company may lose $1 million a day in an upcoming text-message boycott. </p>
<p><strong><em>New York Times Magazine</em>, Aug. 2<br /></strong>The cover story wonders why Americans have stopped cooking. Julia Child, whose life is depicted in the upcoming film <em>Julie and Julia</em>, took the fear out of gourmet cooking, and the current explosion of cable cooking shows keeps interest in creative cuisine boiling. Why do we love to watch others cook but not to do it ourselves? Obesity rates are inversely proportional to time spent on food preparation, and anthropologists have begun to believe that cooking is a main behavior that distinguishes us from animals. <strong>…</strong> Virginia Heffernan dissects &quot;<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OuFJl6RxpyM">Your Dad Asks Computer Questions</a>,&quot; a cartoon based on clueless Internet queries from real dads. What kinds of men &quot;get&quot; the Web? Some prefer more controlled communication; others stay away out of hammy deference to their &quot;savvy&quot; children. But when &quot;older people&quot; try out a computer and find something they like to do, they typically don't need a bit of help.</p>
<p><strong><em>Rolling Stone</em>, Aug. 6<br /></strong>The cover story relives the final days of Michael Jackson, in which the pop star devoted all his energy to plotting his grand comeback. &quot;We've got to put on the greatest show on Earth,&quot; he told his manager and assured his friend Deepak Chopra that this time it was &quot;for real.&quot; With $270 million in debt and his creditors constantly on the verge of disclosure, Jackson needed the money that London's O<sub>2</sub> arena had offered. His road back to physical fitness was arduous, but by the last dress rehearsal before his death, the director says &quot;he was ready to do that show.&quot; <strong>…</strong> A profile of Rob Thomas focuses on his harsh Southern upbringing: a crazy alcoholic mother, relatives who hired serial killers, and the ever-presence of drugs. His detractors dismiss him as &quot;the rock star next door,&quot; but until his new album <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001Q9F0D6?ie=UTF8&amp;tag=slatmaga-20&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=390957&amp;creativeASIN=B001Q9F0D6"><em>Cradlesong</em></a>, he'd kept most of his personal life quiet. </p>
<p><strong><em>The Nation</em>, Aug. 17<br /></strong>The <a href="http://www.thenation.com/doc/20090817/cooper">cover story</a> sizes up the political and financial crisis that has made California a &quot;failed state.&quot; The meltdown has been brewing for decades and cannot be chalked up to partisan leaders. Endless overlapping veto power has created a vacuum of leadership in which no one can assert any real authority. But there's general agreement on what to do: End gerrymandering and term limits, consider open primaries, and overhaul the state's cap on property tax. <strong>…</strong> Recalling his own arrest in a similarly tense situation, Eric Alterman <a href="http://www.thenation.com/doc/20090817/alterman">criticizes</a> Henry Louis Gates Jr. for &quot;racializing&quot; the context of his now-infamous arrest two weeks ago. Gates, President Obama, and the media immediately assumed the officer had racial motivations, even though he had led classes on avoiding racial profiling. The misguided discussion of the incident has ensured that &quot;this is not the 'teachable moment' for which liberals and civil rights groups are so understandably eager.&quot;</p>
<p><strong>Must Read<br /></strong>The <em>Weekly Standard</em>'s <a href="http://weeklystandard.com/Check.asp?idArticle=16772&amp;r=lyldx">cover story</a> on classic cocktails is packed with rich history and handy bar tips.</p>
<p><strong>Must Skip<br /></strong><em>Time</em>'s <a href="http://www.time.com/time/politics/article/0,8599,1913623,00.html">cover story</a> on health care sums up the situation but adds nothing that you haven't already read. Check out its <a href="http://www.time.com/time/politics/article/0,8599,1913410,00.html">interview</a> with President Obama instead.</p>
<p><strong>Best Politics Piece<br /></strong>A detailed <em>Economist </em> <a href="http://www.economist.com/world/international/displaystory.cfm?story_id=14121716">article</a> explains how the after-effects of torture policies are hampering British and American intelligence.</p>
<p><strong>Best Culture Piece<br /></strong>The <em>New York Times Magazine</em>'s cover story on cooking makes a persuasive case for spending more time in the kitchen.</p>
<p><strong>Roast of the Week<br /></strong>A dark <a href="http://www.tnr.com/politics/story.html?id=07dd9c62-9009-4ed1-9c72-ab0a75716a19">essay</a> in the <em>New</em><em> Republic</em><em></em>spears British Prime Minister Gordon Brown: &quot;He did not know what to tear up and what to plant. He had no instinct for the seasons.&quot;</p>Fri, 31 Jul 2009 21:18:00 GMThttp://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/other_magazines/2009/07/fierce_urgency.htmlDavid Sessions2009-07-31T21:18:00ZThe Economist tells Obama it's time to lead.News and PoliticsWhat's new in Time, Rolling Stone, and The Nation.2223943David SessionsOther Magazineshttp://www.slate.com/id/2223943falsefalsefalseRaising the Barhttp://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/other_magazines/2009/07/raising_the_bar.html
<p><strong><em> Weekly Standard</em></strong>, Aug. 3 The <a href="http://weeklystandard.com/Check.asp?idArticle=16772&amp;r=lyldx">cover story</a> calls the return of the classic cocktail a &quot;rediscovery of antique knowledge.&quot; High-end restaurants, which have long made their profits on beverages, now see a &quot;serious bar program&quot; as the next step in a culinary revolution. A new generation of bartenders who lived through the 1990s revival of &quot;serious interest in booze&quot; is dedicated to the profession's venerable history. Many classic mixes are reappearing under trendy new names, and American liquor stores are stocked with &quot;an amazing array of new products.&quot;<strong>…</strong> An <a href="http://weeklystandard.com/Check.asp?idArticle=16764&amp;r=zjvvu">editorial</a> argues that President Obama's health care plan is laden with hidden costs and provisions that the president hoped to ram through Congress before anyone has time to discover them. But an &quot;extraordinary wave of public concern&quot; has slowed its passage long enough for serious examination, and its cost and the prospect of government rationing &quot;are worse than even worst than most of their critics have grasped.&quot;</p>
<p><strong><em> The New Yorker</em></strong>, Aug. 3 An <a href="http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2009/08/03/090803fa_fact_baker">article</a> examines Amazon's Kindle and finds it wanting. The screen is &quot;greenish, sickly gray,&quot; making it impossible to read in the dark or in the bright sun. Numerous books aren't available, and when they are, they're &quot;closed clumps of code that only one purchaser can own. A copy of a Kindle book dies with its owner.&quot; Kindle newspapers omit illustrations and, on some days, the most important stories. Worst of all, it only supports formats that Amazon controls. <strong>…</strong> A long account of a road trip through Siberia sets the scene in the boundary-less area of northern Russia that has become a metaphor for isolation. It makes up one-twelfth of all the land on Earth. &quot;The land simply stretches on and on; eventually you feel you're in the farthest, extra, out-of-sight section of the parking lot, where no one in the history of civilization has ever bothered to go.&quot;</p>
<p><strong><em> New Republic</em></strong>, Aug. 12 The <a href="http://www.tnr.com/politics/story.html?id=3cec0b39-4950-4a27-9e03-ad8d3a07f52f&amp;">cover story</a> examines foreign policy in the Obama White House and concludes that the president &quot;has, in effect, been his own national security advisor and secretary of state.&quot; Consumed with domestic politics when he took office, Obama seemed ready to outsource international decisions to his strong-minded staff. Instead, he has shown great interest in the process of foreign policy. Despite a &quot;whisper campaign&quot; about his job performance, National Security Adviser Jim Jones works closely with Obama on every decision and shares the president's love of the process. <strong>…</strong> An <a href="http://www.tnr.com/politics/story.html?id=b69fd412-9024-49d2-b4be-446c7fce1b70">article</a> tells the strange story of Leopold Munyakazi, an African professor who fled to the United States only to have NBC executives show up at his new college and charge him with participating in the 1994 Rwandan genocide. The charges led to a vicious debate over reinterpreting the genocide, with the late Rwanda expert Alison De Forges coming to Munyakazi's defense.</p>
<p><strong><em> New York</em></strong><strong>, Aug. 3</strong> The <a href="http://nymag.com/news/business/58094">cover story</a> goes inside Goldman Sachs to determine whether the investment bank is a government-manipulating cabal of nefarious profiteers or just really good at making money. Goldman claims that its economic talent explains its cozy relationship with Washington and that it scrupulously follows laws separating trading and financial consulting. But some clients say they know the company trades against their interests and that &quot;Goldman's ability to convince the world that it is a 'client-oriented' business [is] its most masterful PR coup.&quot;<strong>… </strong> An <a href="http://nymag.com/arts/popmusic/features/58080/">article</a> tries to reconcile the current, Upper East Side Madonna with the younger Madonna, who was an &quot;elegant key to all feminine mythologies.&quot; Her quest for eternal youth is exhausting and unsettling, but she &quot;seems determined to do something unsettling and new: spin to the center of the dance floor till the end.&quot;<strong> …</strong> A <a href="http://nymag.com/news/intelligencer/topic/58091/">fact sheet</a> dishes on the consulting firm hired to shape up Cond&eacute; Nast's famous financial extravagance.</p>
<p><strong><em> Newsweek</em></strong>, Aug. 3 The <a href="http://www.newsweek.com/id/208633">cover story</a>, by <strong><em>Slate </em></strong> columnist Daniel Gross, declares the end of the recession but admits that doing so is &quot;celebrating a technicality.&quot; GDP growth doesn't feed families, and unemployment is likely to continue rising to above 10 percent. It's impossible to judge whether the government's risky investment will work, but it's far too early to call it a failure. Unlike economy-stimulating public works of past recessions, smart-economy projects like alternative energy and green technology will produce slower, if equally invaluable, returns. This &quot;new kind of recovery&quot; will be a long process in which we focus on survival and &quot;accept small, incremental gains.&quot;<strong>…</strong> An <a href="http://www.newsweek.com/id/208518">article</a> reports the severe effects of sex-offender laws, which increasingly limit offenders to &quot;remote and shrinking slivers of land.&quot; Some are forced into squalid &quot;camps&quot; far from running water or plumbing. Many formerly hard-line activists and politicians are reconsidering their position after witnessing the terrible conditions.</p>Tue, 28 Jul 2009 20:45:00 GMThttp://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/other_magazines/2009/07/raising_the_bar.htmlDavid Sessions2009-07-28T20:45:00ZThe Weekly Standard on the return of classic cocktails.News and PoliticsWhat's new in Newsweek, The New Yorker, and the New Republic.2223790David SessionsOther Magazineshttp://www.slate.com/id/2223790falsefalsefalseWall Street Wants Help, Democrats Want Taxeshttp://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/todays_papers/2009/07/wall_street_wants_help_democrats_want_taxes.html
<p>The <em> <a href="http://online.wsj.com/page/us_in_todays_paper.html">Wall Street Journal</a></em>leads with the preparations for <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124726834760725751.html#mod=todays_us_page_one">bankruptcy filing at CIT Group</a> after the company failed to obtain a government guarantee to help it borrow. CIT is desperately pressing its case to the government in the looming shadow of a $1 billion payment due in mid-August. The <em> <a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/front/">Los Angeles Times</a></em>leads with <a href="http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-gm11-2009jul11,0,3751449.story">General Motors' emergence</a> on the other side of bankruptcy as a smaller company that is promising to innovate and place a &quot;steely&quot; focus on its customers. The <em> <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/print/">Washington Post</a></em> leads with <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/09/AR2009070902702.html">AIG's request</a> for the government to bless the millions of dollars in bonuses it promised to its top executives by 2010. The insurance giant doesn't need federal approval but is reluctant to deliver the long-promised bonuses without &quot;political cover&quot; from the Obama administration. The <em> <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/pages/todayspaper/index.html">New York Times</a></em> leads with <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/11/us/11nsa.html?ref=todayspaper">a government review</a> released yesterday that declares the Bush administration's warrantless-wiretapping program inferior to other intelligence-gathering methods in effectiveness and timeliness.</p>
<p>After failing to get a borrowing guarantee from the government, CIT Group, a major lender to almost a million small and midsize businesses, hired a law firm to begin bankruptcy preparations. As of March 31 the company had $68 billion in liabilities, meaning a bankruptcy would catastrophically affect thousands of borrowers. CIT is actively involved in a discussion with the FDIC, which oversees the government's debt-guarantee program and has not yet reached a decision on the lending giant's application. The agreement would allow CIT, which currently has a &quot;junk&quot; credit rating, to sell low-interest bonds.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, AIG is wrangling with President Obama's &quot;compensation czar&quot; to get political approval for another $250 million in executive bonuses that were promised before the current administration even began. The next wave of bonuses, due by March 2010, are aimed at retaining executives from AIG Financial Products, the division that &quot;wrecked&quot; the company last year with complex credit contracts. AIG bonuses became a symbol of outrage directed at Wall Street when the company gave them out earlier this year; they're hoping a presidential blessing will cut down on the drama this time.</p>
<p>General Motors&nbsp;emerged from bankruptcy yesterday with the government owning 60 percent of the company and its CEO <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/11/AR2009071100470.html">promising that</a> &quot;business as usual is over.&quot; He announced a new top-level management structure, and said the company would soon experiment with <a href="http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-gm11-2009jul11,0,3751449.story">selling cars on eBay</a> in California. The <em>LAT </em>declares the 39-day bankruptcy &quot;remarkable&quot; for its scale and brevity; the <em>WP </em>notes that it is one of the largest bankruptcies in U.S. history.</p>
<p>Intelligence officials who spoke to the <em>NYT </em>could scarcely remember a single incident in which the National Security Agency's wiretapping program &quot;contributed to successes against terrorists.&quot; A new government report seems to corroborate their memories: It reveals that, while the program did uncover some valuable information, it rarely played much of a role in the FBI's &quot;overall counterterrorism efforts.&quot; The report also &quot;hints&quot; that the administration pressured the NSA to keep the program going: Threat assessments prepared every 45 days to gain permission to continue the program became known inside the agency as &quot;scare memos&quot; because they strained to identify particular threats that could be used to justify the wiretapping.</p>
<p>Congressional Democrats have figured out how to pay for overhauling the health care system: wring it out of wealthy Americans. Individual taxpayers making&nbsp;more than&nbsp;$280,000 per year, and couples making&nbsp;more than&nbsp;$350,000, will be <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/11/health/policy/11health.html?ref=todayspaper">asked to hand over $550 billion</a> in the next 10 years to pay for legislation currently in the House ways and means committee. The final bill, the <em>WSJ </em>adds, is <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124724606979424337.html#mod=todays_us_page_one">likely to cost&nbsp;more than&nbsp;$1 trillion</a>. The <em>NYT </em>calls the bold support for tax increases &quot;perhaps the clearest expression yet of the mandate that Democrats believe they won last November.&quot;</p>
<p>Peggy Noonan unsentimentally eulogizes <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124716984620819351.html">Sarah Palin's political career</a> on the <em>WSJ </em>op-ed page, writing that Palin was &quot;out of her depth in a shallow pool.&quot; At times, Noonan almost seems to be responding to another columnist who, <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/06/opinion/06ross.html">writing earlier this week</a>, saw a classic American storyline in Palin's whirlwind rise to fame: &quot;America doesn't need Sarah Palin to prove it was, and is, a nation of unprecedented fluidity.&quot;</p>
<p>A <a href="http://www.streetpianos.com/london2009/">cool interactive art project</a> has led to 30 <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/11/arts/design/11pianos.html?ref=todayspaper">pianos being scattered around London</a>, encouraging inhabitants of Britain's capital to come out and provide free music. The pianos, which cost Bristol artist Luke Jerram about &pound;14,000 (about $22,000) to set up, have &quot;resoundingly disproved the stereotype that [Londoners] are genetically incapable of spontaneous acts of public exuberance.&quot;</p>Sat, 11 Jul 2009 10:00:00 GMThttp://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/todays_papers/2009/07/wall_street_wants_help_democrats_want_taxes.htmlDavid Sessions2009-07-11T10:00:00ZNews and PoliticsThe papers on Wall Street's latest begging.2222725David SessionsToday's Papershttp://www.slate.com/id/2222725falsefalsefalseHouse Passes Landmark Emissions Billhttp://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/todays_papers/2009/06/house_passes_landmark_emissions_bill.html
<p>The <em> <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/pages/todayspaper/index.html">New York Times</a></em>, <em> <a href="http://online.wsj.com/page/us_in_todays_paper.html">Wall Street Journal</a></em>, and the <em> <a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/front/">Los Angeles Times</a></em>lead with, and the <em> <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/print/">Washington Post</a></em> off-leads, the 219-212 passage of a sweeping House bill that would cap greenhouse gas emissions and shift the country toward new energy sources. The <em>WP</em> leads with President Obama's <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/06/26/AR2009062603361.html">consideration of an executive order</a> to reassert the government's authority to hold terror suspects indefinitely. The administration is worried that agreement with Congress over how to close the military prison at Guantanamo Bay may be impossible.</p>
<p>The <em>NYT </em>spends its <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/27/us/politics/27climate.html?_r=1&amp;ref=todayspaper">first couple of paragraphs</a> establishing the climate bill's historicity, saying it &quot;could lead to profound changes in many sectors of the economy.&quot; The <em>WSJ </em> <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124602039232560485.html#mod=todays_us_page_one">words things more darkly</a>, noting that the bill &quot;will reach into almost every corner of the U.S. economy&quot; if it somehow manages to survive the Senate, where moderate Democrats and Republicans could settle for &quot;less ambitious action.&quot; The bill aims to reduce U.S. carbon emissions to 17 percent below 2005 levels by 2020, and 83 percent by 2050 by setting prices on carbon emitted by tons. Despite the landmark passage, <a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-climate27-2009jun27,0,5568426.story">roundly heralded</a> as a major victory for President Obama's legislative agenda, the vote pitted liberal coastal Democrats against heartland Democrats whose constituencies depend heavily on manufacturing jobs. Republicans insisted that the bill is a tax that will cripple the economy; their leader, John Boehner, R-Ohio, delayed the vote for an hour reading a 300-page amendment.</p>
<p>An executive order <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/06/26/AR2009062603361.html">under consideration in the White House</a>, the <em>WP</em>'s lead scoop reveals, would embrace George W. Bush's claims that terror suspects can be held indefinitely without trial. Obama advisers are worried about angering key supporters, but also believe reaching consensus with Congress on a new detention system for Guantanamo detainees will be all but impossible. The administration has reviewed about half of the 242 detainees' cases for either charges or release, but the remaining half cannot be prosecuted in U.S. courts or have been &quot;tainted by the Bush administration's use of harsh interrogation techniques.&quot; Concern is growing among Obama advisers that Congress may try to meddle too much in the administration's handling of those remaining detainees.</p>
<p>South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford issued <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124603485267961299.html#mod=todays_us_page_one">another round of emotional apologies</a> for his affair in a televised Cabinet meeting yesterday, but aides say he has no intention of resigning. Jenny Sanford, the governor's wife, is the focus of <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/27/us/27jenny.html?ref=todayspaper">a front-page <em>NYT </em>story</a>, which paints her as a sturdy survivor with no interest in being a victim. Mrs. Sanford gave up her career as a New York investment banker to assist in her husband's political ambitions—which she yesterday told a reporter is &quot;no concern of mine.&quot; She says she is working on her marriage, and friends say she was &quot;never one to abandon her sense of identity, her direction, or her own opinions.&quot; In <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124605954843063629.html#mod=todays_us_page_one">an amusing <em>WSJ </em>story</a>, Argentines consider their country's &quot;surprise role&quot; in the Sanford sex scandal, suggesting they're much more forgiving than Americans about such things.</p>
<p>The wave of Michael Jackson press turns from memorial to investigation, as the focus falls on the possible effects of his prescription drug use. Initial autopsy results <a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-michael-jackson27-2009jun27,0,6147890.story">were inconclusive</a>, and it will take four to six weeks before toxicology tests reveal whether or not prescription medication played a part in Jackson's cardiac arrest. The Los Angeles Police Department is <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/27/us/27Jackson.html?ref=todayspaper">placing its robbery and homicide division on the case</a> because of its high-profile nature. Sony executives, meanwhile, are trying to get a grasp on <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/27/business/media/27finances.html?ref=todayspaper">the singer's tattered finances</a>. And the papers are by no means finished memorializing: Most of the <em>LAT</em>'s front-page real estate is devoted the King of Pop, including a <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/pages/todayspaper/index.html">story on his final</a> <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/pages/todayspaper/index.html">rehearsal</a> and a <a href="http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/la-me-jackson-hilburn27-2009jun27,0,4897003.story">loving meditation on his loneliness</a>. The <em>WP </em>&quot;Style&quot; section ruminates on Jackson's <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/06/26/AR2009062604256.html">musical legacy</a> and recalls his &quot;<a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/06/26/AR2009062604258.html">sense of style that never grew up</a>&quot;; the <em>NYT </em>remembers his&nbsp; <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/27/arts/music/27assess.html?ref=todayspaper">unique, unaparalleld dance&nbsp;stylings</a>. </p>
<p>Iran once again makes the front pages, with the <em>NYT </em>reporting that the regime believes it <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/27/world/middleeast/27iran.html?ref=todayspaper">has effectively silenced</a> popular resentment of this month's election result. An influential cleric suggests opposition leaders could be executed, and security forces <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124606972736564303.html#mod=todays_us_page_one">have reinforced their already heavy presence in Tehran</a>. The <em>WP </em>reveals that foreign governments, including China, Cuba, and Burma, are <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124606972736564303.html#mod=todays_us_page_one">censoring news about Iran</a> out of fear that the democratic spirit could spread to their own populations.</p>
<p>Aviation investigators suspect a rapid string of computer and equipment failures <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124605948270463623.html#mod=todays_us_page_one">led to the crash</a> of Air France Flight 447, which went down in the Atlantic Ocean on its way to Paris earlier this month, killing all 228 on board. The searchers have not been able to recover the plane's &quot;black boxes,&quot; which would likely contain information explaining the crash.</p>
<p>A violent offshoot of the Minutemen, a citizen border patrol project that's been getting press for a few years now, <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/27/us/27arizona.html?ref=todayspaper">raided an Arizona home last month</a> and killed two. Three members of cultish group were arrested for the murders, and their anti-immigrant convictions are described as &quot;extreme, at times frightening, even to people accustomed to hard-line views on border policing.&quot;&nbsp; </p>
<p><em>WP </em>television critic Tom Shales <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/06/26/AR2009062604259.html">reviews the premiere of <em>Hung</em></a>, a new HBO comedy about a well-endowed guy who ventures into prostitution. (Shales blames editors and propriety for his use of only single-entrendes; if you like your reviews with double-entendres, <strong><em>Slate</em></strong>'s Troy Patterson <a href="http://www.slate.com/id/2221407/">came up with a few</a>.) Shales says the show's miserable lead character is &quot;about as lovable as snakes on a plane—either the actual occurrence or the horrendous movie of that name.&quot;</p>Sat, 27 Jun 2009 07:47:00 GMThttp://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/todays_papers/2009/06/house_passes_landmark_emissions_bill.htmlDavid Sessions2009-06-27T07:47:00ZNews and PoliticsThe&nbsp;papers on the passage of a landmark emissions bill.2221709David SessionsToday's Papershttp://www.slate.com/id/2221709falsefalsefalseThe Curehttp://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/other_magazines/2009/06/the_cure.html
<p><strong><em> Economist</em></strong>, June 27 The <a href="http://www.economist.com/displaystory.cfm?story_id=13899647">cover story</a> calls the U.S. health care system the most expensive in the world and one of the most inefficient, citing &quot;uneven quality of care, inadequate coverage and soaring costs.&quot; The uninsured show up at emergency clinics, forcing taxpayers to pay for expensive treatments that could have been avoided by simple preventive care. Entire regions have no competition between hospitals or health care providers. After decades of failed fixes, it looks like Americans are ready to face the problems. <strong>…</strong> An <a href="http://www.economist.com/world/mideast-africa/displaystory.cfm?story_id=13924862">article</a> describes the internal conflicts roiling Iran's government, particularly a sharp hostility between Ayatollah Khamenei and Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, a former president and political rival. The public crackdown succeeded, but many Iranian liberals think that the election gave the country a rare chance to express itself. That, coupled with the end of the Islamic republic's legitimacy, will long outlast the government's disappointing reaction.</p>
<p><strong><em> Time</em></strong>, July 6 The cover package reviews Franklin Delano Roosevelt's presidency and its <a href="http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1906802_1906838_1906745,00.html">lessons for</a> President Obama. FDR recognized great opportunity in crisis and set about remaking American society in a way that outlived the economic reality he faced. But his erratic spending <a href="http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1906802_1906838_1906978,00.html">delayed recovery</a> from the Depression it was designed to end. FDR wasn't known for his spine or intellect, but his instincts <a href="http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1906802_1906838_1906797,00.html">got him through</a> World War II. His presidency reminds us that working with &quot;nasties&quot;—Roosevelt was careful not to alienate Stalin, even when he saw where Moscow was headed—is the only way to contain even greater evil. <strong>…</strong> An <a href="http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1907147,00.html">essay</a> denounces the Obama administration's financial regulation proposals. They all depend on the discretion of regulators, who are as subject to ups and downs as anyone else. The rules should be simple and insulated from the constant tinkering of financial experts.</p>
<p><strong><em> New York Times Magazine</em></strong>, June 28 The cover story examines the &quot;perverse paradox&quot; that the auto industry, which helped establish a flourishing black middle class, is collapsing now that we have a black president. Black migration to Detroit soared during World War II, and the NAACP and the United Auto Workers joined forces to fight for equal employment rights at auto factories. <strong>…</strong> An article profiles Stuart Murdoch, the creator and singer of Scottish indie pop group Belle and Sebastian. After a long sickness that isolated him from the Glasgow music scene and two upbeat albums that isolated many of his misery-loving original fans, Murdoch has a new project: a movie musical about a couple dealing with a similar illness. Now nearly recovered and a regular churchgoer, Murdoch dismisses his disenchanted fans: &quot;The only thing worse than being miserable is sentimentalizing misery as a desired state.&quot;</p>
<p><strong><em> Esquire</em></strong>, July 2009 An <a href="http://www.esquire.com/features/best-job-searches-0709">article</a> sends a New York-based magazine editor, who has never worked outside of journalism, to answer the question: &quot;What the hell would I do if I lost my job?&quot; In six weeks, he applies for 300 jobs, a number of which contact him for interviews. Awkwardness ensues—he's asked to demonstrate his ability to sell jewelry to Upper East Side women—and he concludes that today's job market &quot;frightens and offends, exhausts and umoors, and reminds even arrogant men who already have jobs of the countless things they can never be.&quot;<strong>…</strong> An <a href="http://www.esquire.com/features/thousand-words-on-culture/bruno-movie-pranks-0709">article</a> frowns on Sacha Baron Cohen and AIG, warning that while we live in the golden age of grand pranks, &quot;it's also a great era for fraud, and the two are inextricably linked.&quot; But as dirty as the thieves and pranksters are, we're usually to blame for wanting to be played.</p>
<p><strong><em> Texas</em></strong><strong><em> Monthly</em>, July 2009<br /></strong> The <a href="http://www.texasmonthly.com/preview/2009-07-01/feature">cover story</a> profiles rocker Ted Nugent, who, after selling 30 million albums and carving out a significant niche in rock history, is now &quot;most easily identified as a battlefield captain in the ongoing culture war.&quot; A lifelong hunting enthusiast, Nugent's views on gun rights are &quot;beyond absolute.&quot; He frequently admonishes President Obama to &quot;suck on&quot; the guns he carries at all times. Nugent campaigns vigorously for the NRA, which has welcomed almost 400,000 new members since Obama's inauguration, and is an outspoken anti-drug activist. <strong>…</strong> An <a href="http://www.texasmonthly.com/preview/2009-07-01/letterfromrefugio">article</a> tells the unlikely story of Nathan Smith, a Los Angeles musician who, after randomly reading a book about lost American treasures, drove to Texas and discovered a famous Spanish shipwreck near Corpus Christi. After a dramatic court case over ownership of the lake where the ship rests, Smith now has permission to dig up the wreck.</p>
<p><strong>Must Read<br /></strong><em>Wired</em>'s July <a href="http://www.wired.com/medtech/health/magazine/17-07/lbnp_nike">cover story</a> on &quot;Nike+,&quot; the system that tracks your exercise through your shoes to an iPod, is a fascinating look at what statistics can tell you about yourself.</p>
<p><strong>Must Skip<br /></strong>Columns on President Obama's foreign policy thinking in <a href="http://nymag.com/news/politics/nationalinterest/57439"><em>New York</em></a> and the <a href="http://weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/016/651kqpio.asp"><em>Weekly Standard</em></a> are equally dull and unenlightening.</p>
<p><strong>Best Politics Piece<br /></strong>The <em>Economist</em>'s <a href="http://www.economist.com/displaystory.cfm?story_id=13899647">cover story</a> on American health care is a succinct, readable overview of the situation with helpful numbers and graphs. </p>
<p><strong>Best Culture Piece<br /></strong>Simultaneously light and weighty, the <em>New York Times Magazine</em>'s catch-up with Belle and Sebastian singer Stuart Murdoch is pleasant and long overdue.</p>
<p><strong>Which Iran Piece?<br /></strong>Everybody says pretty much the same thing about Iran this week, but check out the <em>Weekly Standard</em>'s <a href="http://weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/016/649ktodb.asp">cover story</a> for the most interesting, thorough overview.</p>Fri, 26 Jun 2009 22:48:00 GMThttp://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/other_magazines/2009/06/the_cure.htmlDavid Sessions2009-06-26T22:48:00ZThe Economist on fixing the U.S. health care system.News and PoliticsWhat's new in Time, the New York Times Magazine, and Esquire.2221401David SessionsOther Magazineshttp://www.slate.com/id/2221401falsefalsefalseDeath to the Dictatorhttp://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/other_magazines/2009/06/death_to_the_dictator.html
<p><strong><em> Newsweek</em></strong>, June 29 The <a href="http://www.newsweek.com/id/202979">cover story</a> predicts the fall of Islamic theocracy—though not necessarily the current regime—in Iran. The regime, based on the &quot;divine&quot; appointment of a supreme leader, now faces more dissent than ever: Top clerics are divided, and there are millions of Iranians who no longer believe in the government's ideology. It will now be able to maintain power only by military intimidation. When it comes, the end of a 30-year experiment in political Islam will make waves across the Muslim world. <strong>…</strong> A <a href="http://www.newsweek.com/id/203010">profile</a> of Iran's Ayatollah Khamenei describes how the idealistic Shia cleric who loved poetry about oppression has become &quot;that cold, hard weight of authority&quot; he once chafed under. His complicated relationships with other members of the government go back decades, and his &quot;indulgent&quot; support for President Ahmadinejad suggests power has given him &quot;tunnel vision.&quot;</p>
<p><strong><em> The New Yorker</em></strong>, <strong>June 29<br /></strong> A resident of Tehran <a href="http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2009/06/29/090629fa_fact?currentPage=all">describes</a> participating in the first post-election march on June 15: &quot;Contrary to the caricature, the demonstrators around me represented an impressive cross-section of Iranian society.&quot; In addition to the &quot;chaff&quot;—young, restless demonstrators the regime hoped to paint as irreverent and pro-West—there were plenty of &quot;pious, middle-aged Iranians.&quot; The author finds Iranians, with their culture of independence and verbal prowess, particularly skillful at composing political chants. <strong>…</strong> A piece profiles James Hansen, director of NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies. A shy climate scientist whose research prompted the first climate-change story in the <em>New York Times</em>, Hansen has recently been seen marching in the streets of Washington, D.C. He believes that &quot;the threat of global warming is far greater than even he realized&quot; and that all coal-burning power plants must be shut down in the next two decades if we're to reverse the damage.</p>
<p><strong><em> Weekly Standard</em></strong>, June 29 The <a href="http://weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/016/649ktodb.asp">cover story</a> argues that whatever happens in Iran, the Islamic Republic as we know it is over. The government's decision to announce the election result so quickly—without even making reasonable efforts to have it appear genuine—&quot;shows how insular and insecure Khamenei, a politicized cleric of some intellectual sensitivity, has become.&quot; Questions about the future of a &quot;supreme leader&quot; in Iran were being discussed before this month's election, and Khamenei's handling of the situation has all but ensured he'll be the end of the line. <strong>…</strong> A <a href="http://weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/016/651kqpio.asp">column</a> argues that President Obama has succumbed to a &quot;false choice&quot; between supporting Iran's opposition and keeping open communication with the regime about nuclear weapons. &quot;Obama's respectful overtures to Iran's leaders evoked only angry recriminations against America and no sign of willingness to settle differences on nuclear arms or anything else.&quot;</p>
<p><strong><em> New York</em></strong><strong>, June 29<br /></strong> An <a href="http://nymag.com/guides/summer/2009/57467">article</a> explores the &quot;gay generation gap,&quot; a divide between older gays who lived through the AIDS epidemic and younger ones who smile at protests and don't think anger has a place in the gay rights movement. The &quot;cultural language&quot; many over-40 gays grew up learning so they could be admitted to the club is dead to young gays, and &quot;the notion of quasi-parental gay mentorship feels ancient.&quot;<strong>…</strong> A <a href="http://nymag.com/news/politics/nationalinterest/57439">column</a> praises President Obama for wanting to be &quot;a serious foreign-policy president.&quot; Obama has thrown himself into the most difficult issue (Israel and Palestine), with a simple strategy: get Israel to make a concession and then demand that Arab nations make one. With a smart team and Jewish members of Congress on his side, the president may get more results than Democratic presidents are known for.<strong> …</strong> Twelve writers <a href="http://nymag.com/guides/summer/2009/57469/">recount</a> their most memorable summer flings.</p>
<p><strong><em> Wired,</em></strong> July 2009 The <a href="http://www.wired.com/medtech/health/magazine/17-07/lbnp_nike">cover story</a> charts the rise of &quot;living by numbers,&quot; a phenomenon best illustrated by Apple and Nike's &quot;Nike+&quot; system. The system consists of an embedded shoe chip that beams information about your running habits to your iPod, then uploads complete statistics to a Web site. People who use it more than five times become hooked on what it tells them about themselves and allow Nike to track broad exercise trends. <strong>…</strong> An <a href="http://www.wired.com/techbiz/it/magazine/17-07/ff_facebookwall">article</a> spies on Facebook's plans for world conquest, which have led to a &quot;full-blown battle over the future of the internet&quot; with the growing company's biggest rival: Google. Facebook envisions a more &quot;humanized&quot; Web with the social network at the center—&quot;in other words, where Google is right now.&quot; Facebook thinks its vast databases of intimate user information—personal details Google can't match—will help it land the huge, expensive brand-advertising accounts that have consistently eluded Google's grasp.</p>Tue, 23 Jun 2009 20:55:00 GMThttp://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/other_magazines/2009/06/death_to_the_dictator.htmlDavid Sessions2009-06-23T20:55:00ZNewsweek and the Weekly Standard predict the end of Iranian theocracy.News and PoliticsWhat's new in The New Yorker, New York, and Wired.2221194David SessionsOther Magazineshttp://www.slate.com/id/2221194falsefalsefalseAyatollah Khamenei Affirms Election,&nbsp;Warns Demonstratorshttp://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/todays_papers/2009/06/ayatollah_khamenei_affirms_electionwarns_demonstrators.html
<p>Battle lines are drawn for another intense, potentially bloody day in Tehran, Iran, where protests against alleged government vote-rigging have raged all week. <a></a> All of the U.S. newspapers lead with yesterday's &quot;final word&quot; from Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, <a href="http://www.slate.com#correction">*</a> Iran's supreme leader, who told a throng at Friday prayer that the election result is final and that the opposition will be held &quot;directly responsible&quot; for the violence the regime will unleash on any further demonstrations. Khamenei condemned killings by pro-government loyalists this week but made it clear that he supports the re-election of incumbent Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.</p>
<p>The crowd &quot;<a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124540205628930963.html#mod=todays_us_page_one">burst into laughter</a>,&quot; the <em> <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/pages/todayspaper/index.html">New York Times</a></em>reports, when the Ayatollah insisted in his &quot;hard-line&quot; speech that the huge margin between President Ahmadinejad and opposition candidate Mir Hussein Mousavi was too large for foul play. &quot;Perhaps 100,000 votes, or 500,000, but how can anyone tamper with 11 million votes?&quot; The <em> <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/print/">Washington Post</a></em>calls Khamenei's sermon &quot;<a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/06/19/AR2009061900089.html">dramatic</a>,&quot; and the story's lede focuses on his declaration that the protests are the work of Western nations, including the United States and Britain. The <em> <a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/front/">Los Angeles Times</a></em>fills in the <a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-iran-khamenei20-2009jun20,0,7572441.story">strange happenings</a> at the end of the speech, when the Ayatollah &quot;began lamenting his physical condition and weeping,&quot; apparently a sort of signal to loyalists to crack down on demonstrators. The Basij, the government's plainclothes volunteer militia, has &quot;<a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124540205628930963.html#mod=todays_us_page_one">already been deployed to the streets</a>,&quot; the <em> <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124540205628930963.html#mod=todays_us_page_one">Wall Street Journal</a></em>adds.</p>
<p>Plans for a Saturday protest seem to be going forward, though the <em>WP </em> <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/06/19/AR2009061900089.html">notes</a> many opposition Web sites weren't updated yesterday afternoon, and no one knows&nbsp;whether Mousavi will attend. The <em>WSJ </em> <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124540205628930963.html#mod=todays_us_page_one">calls</a> the situation a &quot;test of the opposition's resolve&quot;; whether to continue calling for demonstrations is a difficult decision for Mousavi since the regime has promised violence to any of his supporters it catches in the streets. But whether or not their candidate shows up, many of the &quot;green army&quot; will be there. One 29-year-old woman, who the <em>LAT </em> <a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-iran-khamenei20-2009jun20,0,7572441.story">saw</a><em></em>sobbing through Khamenei's speech, said she would be marching no matter the cost: &quot;This is how countries that have freedom and democracy get it. They have to fight and die for it.&quot;</p>
<p>The Ayatollah's speech had reverberations in Washington, where both houses of Congress &quot;overwhelmingly&quot; passed resolutions condemning the Iranian government's violence toward the demonstrators. Republicans used the votes to &quot;<a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124546148508933437.html">press the White House to take sides</a>&quot;—Sen. John McCain said the demonstrators are waiting for a show of U.S. support—but President Obama had no official comment on the speech. &quot;We're not going to be used as political foils and political footballs in a debate that's happening by Iranians in Iran,&quot; press secretary Robert Gibbs said. But <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/20/world/middleeast/20policy.html?ref=todayspaper">administration officials said</a> events this weekend—namely whether or not Iran carries out its violent threats—would determine whether the president joins European leaders in a harsher condemnation.</p>
<p>Front-page stories in the <em>WP </em>and <em>LAT </em>report on high unemployment numbers. At above 10 percent, the District of Columbia is at its <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/06/19/AR2009061901600.html">highest unemployment rate since 1983</a>; at 11.5 percent, the state of California is at its <a href="http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-california-jobless20-2009jun20,0,3863292.story">highest rate since</a> record-keeping began. Government jobs in D.C. typically keep its population insulated from economic downturns, but the District has a high number of low-income, low-skilled workers who aren't qualified for most of the new D.C. jobs created under the new administration. (Those positions go to more educated residents of bordering Virginia and Maryland.) California's unemployment is hitting men especially hard: Three out of four people who have lost their jobs since December 2007 are men, a phenomenon unnamed experts awkwardly call a &quot;mancession.&quot;</p>
<p>Republican Sen. John Ensign is <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/06/19/AR2009061902327.html">accusing his former mistress's husband</a> of making &quot;exorbitant demands for cash and other financial benefits,&quot; a story you'll find only in today's <em>WP. </em>Ensign's office said the senator's revelation of his affair with Cynthia Hampton had nothing to do with her husband's cash demands but came after Doug Hampton detailed his wife's affair with Ensign in a <a href="http://www.politico.com/blogs/glennthrush/0609/Hubby_of_Ensign_mistress_tried_to_tip_FOX.html">letter</a> to Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly.</p>
<p>We finally know what was wrong with Apple CEO Steve Jobs: He <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124546193182433491.html#mod=testMod">got a liver transplant</a> in Tennessee a couple of months ago, is recovering well, and is expected to return to work at the end of June, a <em>WSJ </em>front-pager reveals. Jobs, 54, will likely work part-time for a period before resuming his full duties.</p>
<p><em>NYT </em>film critic A.O. Scott reviews some choice examples of Iran's &quot;<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/20/movies/20cinema.html?ref=todayspaper">historically rich movie culture</a>,&quot; which has continued to flourish even under the hard-line Mahmoud Ahmadinejad: &quot;You see class divisions, the cruelty of the state, the oppression of women and their ways of resisting it, traditions of generosity and hospitality, and above all a passion for argument.&quot;</p>
<p><em><strong>Correction,</strong> <a><strong></strong></a><strong>June 22, 2009: </strong>This article originally misspelled Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's surname as &quot;Khameini.&quot; (<a href="http://www.slate.com#return">Return</a> to the corrected sentence.)</em></p>Sat, 20 Jun 2009 09:25:00 GMThttp://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/todays_papers/2009/06/ayatollah_khamenei_affirms_electionwarns_demonstrators.htmlDavid Sessions2009-06-20T09:25:00ZNews and PoliticsThe papers on the aftermath of&nbsp;Ayatollah Khamenei's&nbsp;&quot;sermon.&quot;2221003David SessionsToday's Papershttp://www.slate.com/id/2221003falsefalsefalseConservatives Draw Supreme Court Battle Lineshttp://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/todays_papers/2009/05/conservatives_draw_supreme_court_battle_lines.html
<p>The <em> <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/pages/todayspaper/index.html">New York Times</a></em>leads with <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/17/us/politics/17conserve.html?ref=todayspaper">10 memorandums</a> that summarize the right's plan to obstruct President Obama's next Supreme Court nomination. Republicans know they have little chance&nbsp;of actually blocking the nominee but hope that a high-profile resistance will help unite their wandering party. The <em> <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/print/">Washington Post</a></em>also <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/05/16/AR2009051602363.html">leads with</a> conservatives and the high court, reporting consensus among Republican senators that gay marriage has replaced abortion as the biggest &quot;flash point&quot; for future confirmation hearings. The <em> <a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/front/">Los Angeles Times</a></em>leads with <a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-spendingcap17-2009may17,0,5260218.story">California Proposition 1A</a>, a measure on the state's Tuesday ballot that would force the government to create a large saving account only to be used in times of crisis. Both opponents and supporters of the measure question its potential effectiveness, and many voters are balking at Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger using Prop 1A to keep his recent tax hikes in place.</p>
<p>As detailed in memoranda <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/17/us/politics/17conserve.html?ref=todayspaper">obtained by the <em>NYT</em></a>, conservatives have planned specific responses to each individual believed to be on President Obama's short list for nomination to the Supreme Court. The most objectionable are Diane P. Wood, Sonia Sotomayor, and Kathleen M. Sullivan, whom conservatives will attack based on their stances on abortion, gay marriage, and interpretation of the Constitution. GOP senators echo those points of contention in the <em>WP</em>'s <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/05/16/AR2009051602363.html">lead story</a>: Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., says opposition &quot;may reflect the degree to which they think that they're not bound by the classical meaning of the Constitution.&quot; Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, said Republicans mostly want avoid a justice who could lead to another deeply divisive case like <em>Roe v. Wade</em>. The memos in the <em>NYT </em>story suggest that conservatives do find some of the president's potential nominees less objectionable than others.</p>
<p>Republicans get more front-page play courtesy of Utah governor Jon Huntsman Jr., whom President Obama selected as his ambassador to China yesterday. Huntsman, who was the national co-chair of Sen. John McCain's presidential campaign, <a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-jon-huntsman17-2009may17,0,2559548.story">said</a> he never expected an offer for the post. Obama said the position is &quot;as important as any in the world.&quot; <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/05/16/AR2009051600917.html">Viewed as</a> a rising star in the Republican Party, Huntsman learned Mandarin Chinese <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/17/world/asia/17ambassador.html?scp=4&amp;sq=huntsman&amp;st=cse">during his time as a Mormon missionary</a>. He has seven children. </p>
<p>Prohibition of outside beverages <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/05/16/AR2009051602390.html?hpid=topnews">proved to be a deal-breaker</a> for many would-be attendees of yesterday's Preakness Stakes in Baltimore. The event, which once drew as many as 60,000 crazy fans, saw a 30 percent drop in attendance this year and a mostly-empty infield during the race. &quot;Those who stayed home forfeited the chance to see Rachel Alexandra become the first filly to win the Preakness in 85 years,&quot; the <em>WP </em>comments.</p>
<p>A front-page <em>NYT</em> <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/17/us/politics/17cap.html?ref=todayspaper">story</a> wonders how cap-and-trade, an emissions-regulation policy formerly dismissed as a Republican- and industry-engineered cop-out, came to win the broad political consensus it currently enjoys. For once, credit goes to the politicians, as cap-and-trade &quot;is almost perfectly designed for the buying and selling of political support through the granting of valuable emissions permits to favor specific industries and even specific Congressional districts.&quot;</p>
<p>The <em>LAT </em> <a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-afghan-deaths17-2009may17,0,4108227.story">investigates</a> a May 4 Taliban attack on the Afghan village of Garani, a bloody affair that Afghan officials say killed 140 civilians. The Taliban outnumbered local authorities by as many as three to one before U.S reinforcements were called. But only around 100 American soldiers were within range to respond, still not enough to beat back the insurgents. The <em>Times </em>calls the attack &quot;a stark illustration of the enormous obstacles faced as the new American administration commits greater numbers of U.S. troops than ever before to confront an increasingly powerful Taliban insurgency.&quot;</p>
<p>Italians are surprised and dazzled by Fiat's &quot;almost overnight&quot; metamorphosis from ailing company to a global auto superpower, <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/05/16/AR2009051602319_pf.html">reports</a> a <em>WP </em>story. The long-suffering Italian company has effectively consumed Chrysler and is brokering a deal with GM to absorb its Latin and European divisions. Fiat is already the third largest automaker in the world after Toyota and Volkswagen, and if its GM deal goes through, it will produce 6 million cars next year—triple its number from last year. Another <em>Post </em>piece <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/05/16/AR2009051602251.html">details</a> Chrysler's two-plus-year search for a partner, during which it attempted deals with&nbsp;more than 10&nbsp;companies.</p>
<p>Everybody's noticed the long, slow <a href="http://www.slate.com/id/2218292/">decline of NBC</a>, and a <em>NYT </em> <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/17/business/media/17silver.html">story</a> looks into the troubles co-chairman Ben Silverman has had turning the ailing network around. Silverman was the architect of <em>The Office </em>and many of the first popular American reality shows, but &quot;a combination of external factors—like a writers' strike and a battered economy—and internal factors, including some gossip-stoking incidents in his personal life&quot; have made his task at NBC more difficult than he anticipated. His detractors complain about his &quot;arrogance&quot; and his self-interested partnerships with his own company, Reveille, which has profited from his position at NBC. CEO Jeff Zucker says he is still confident in Silverman: &quot;If we weren't supportive of Ben, he wouldn't be here.&quot;</p>
<p>Police <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/17/world/europe/17russia.html?ref=todayspaper">arrested</a> around 40 gay-rights demonstrators at the Eurovision song contest in Moscow yesterday evening. The <em>LAT </em>has <a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-gaypride17-2009may17,0,2736586.story">a first-person account</a>. </p>
<p><em>NYT </em>theater critic Ben Brantley <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/17/theater/theaterspecial/17bran.html?ref=arts">calls</a> the concluding Broadway season &quot;so fully alive and functionally adult it felt as if some brain-freezing, senses-numbing spell, cast perhaps by a singing witch from a Disney show, had at long last been lifted.&quot; When Tony award voters cast their ballots next month, they will&nbsp;face &quot;the hardest choices they have had to make in decades.&quot;</p>
<p>Thinking about trimming the household budgets by doing some of your own home or car repairs? <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/17/us/17blunders.html?ref=todayspaper">Think twice</a>, or you could end up wrecking your car trying to fix your overflowing new toilet.</p>Sun, 17 May 2009 06:22:00 GMThttp://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/todays_papers/2009/05/conservatives_draw_supreme_court_battle_lines.htmlDavid Sessions2009-05-17T06:22:00ZNews and PoliticsThe papers on conservatives' plans to oppose President Obama's Supreme Court nominees.2218573David SessionsToday's Papershttp://www.slate.com/id/2218573falsefalsefalseWork 2.0http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/other_magazines/2009/05/work_20.html
<p><strong><em> Time</em></strong>, May 25 The cover package foretells the &quot;future of work,&quot; predicting 10 ways that jobs in America will change. We already know &quot;high-end talent&quot; will be <a href="http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1898024_1898023_1898101,00.html">looking for alternatives</a> to Wall Street. Past employment expectations—401(k)s, complete health coverage, &quot;evergreen&quot; retirement—will <a href="http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1898024_1898023_1898082,00.html">pass away</a> in favor of a freelancer-friendly but less secure job market. Women will <a href="http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1898024_1898023_1898078,00.html">keep rising</a> to the top as their consensus-building management style proves lucrative. And the corporate ladder will become a &quot;<a href="http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1898024_1898023_1898076,00.html">lattice</a>,&quot; with endless options for moving up, down, or sideways, depending on what life requires at the moment. <strong>…</strong> An <a href="http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1898346,00.html">article</a> finds 5 million American couples cohabiting as &quot;committed unmarrieds.&quot; A few of these long-term couples remain unmarried as a gay rights statement but most have a &quot;Why bother?&quot; attitude. Studies show that cohabiting couples are twice as likely to break up as married ones, so the arrangement only works if both partners are equally committed to their nonlegal status.</p>
<p><strong><em> Economist</em></strong>, May 16 The <a href="http://www.economist.com/printedition/displayStory.cfm?Story_ID=13648968">cover story</a> argues that bank bailouts have set up a dangerous system&nbsp;in which&nbsp;financial institutions know they can take risks at taxpayers' expense. But rather than imposing draconian regulations to prevent future disaster, governments should focus on &quot;sensible reorganization.&quot; Institutions that look like banks should be regulated like them, and none of them should be big enough to &quot;hold the system to ransom.&quot; … An <a href="http://www.economist.com/displaystory.cfm?story_id=13642689">article</a> surveys declining traditional news outlets and the online-business models likely to replace them. News itself isn't going anywhere. But the traditional news &quot;package&quot;—a blend of general-interest stories, plus sports, weather, and classifieds—is disappearing as aggregators make it easier for consumers to find exactly what they want. The restructuring will likely capitalize on the demand for niche content: Publications will present general stories for free online but will expect some readers to pay for specific types of news.</p>
<p><strong><em> New York Times Magazine</em></strong>, May 17 An article profiles financial-advice guru Suze Orman, whose CNBC ratings are up 20 percent from last year. Her outsize celebrity is odd considering her &quot;killjoy&quot; message—Orman is famous for crusading against debt and excessive spending—but requests for advice keep flooding in. &quot;She has figured out a way to channel an innate charisma and a televangelist's intensity into an otherwise bland message of fiscal responsibility.&quot;<strong>…</strong> An article investigates how credit card companies are using psychology, based on vast databases of personal information, to get recession-battered debtors to pay up. Companies began using elaborate behavioral tests decades ago to determine which customers could be lured into a never-ending cycle of fees and unpaid balances and which ones might run up a huge tab and disappear. Now companies can predict with frightening accuracy which cardholders can be cajoled into making payments.</p>
<p><strong><em> Reason</em></strong>, June 2009 An <a href="http://reason.com/news/show/133221.html">article</a> by the former publisher of the <em>Western Standard</em>, a Canadian magazine, revisits his decision to reprint the Danish cartoons that infuriated Muslims in 2006. The <em>Standard</em>, which considered the media's self-censorship &quot;cowardice masquerading as sensitivity,&quot; was the only Canadian publication to do so. After being investigated by the Alberta Human Rights Commission, the magazine uploaded videos of its questioning to YouTube, and a media storm forced the commission to dismiss its complaint. &quot;My story isn't just about free speech,&quot; the author writes. &quot;It's also about the way new technology has leveled the playing field between big government and private citizens.&quot;<strong>…</strong> The <a href="http://reason.com/news/show/133227.html">cover story</a> argues that massive alternative-energy spending has a long history of waste and overhype. &quot;Instead of creating artificial alternative energy markets that depend on government support … policymakers should be focusing on removing barriers to the creation of revolutionary new technologies.&quot;</p>
<p><strong><em> The Nation</em></strong>, June 1 An article <a href="http://www.thenation.com/doc/20090601/lichtenstein">argues</a> that the United Auto Workers union needs a dramatic plan for the nation's moment of crisis to win back public support. Walter Ruether, the union's &quot;legendary&quot; president, engineered the production of U.S. warplanes at Detroit's factories during World War II. The union could respond with a similar effort now to advance a fundamental restructuring: &quot;For example, the UAW could forge a high-profile alliance with environmental groups to demand higher fuel standards.&quot; Most importantly, it should act &quot;boldly and visibly,&quot; not just in backrooms. <strong>…</strong> A <a href="http://www.thenation.com/doc/20090601/cockburn">column</a> complains that &quot;anguished valedictories&quot; to the dying press are &quot;like hearing the witches in <em>Macbeth</em> evoked as if they were the beautiful Aphrodite and her rivals vying for the judgment of Paris.&quot; Newspapers have long been more interested in profits than public service and have &quot;obstructed and sabotaged efforts to improve our social and political condition.&quot;</p>
<p><strong>Must Read<br /></strong><em>The New Yorker</em>'s <a href="http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2009/05/18/090518fa_fact_lehrer?currentPage=all">study</a> of &quot;the science of self-control&quot; is fascinating and offers numerous practical applications. </p>
<p><strong>Must Skip<br /></strong><em>New York</em>'s <a href="http://nymag.com/news/features/56623">cover story</a> on the city's &quot;withdrawal from money&quot; is an overlong amalgamation of statistics and history that doesn't really lead to a coherent conclusion.</p>
<p><strong>Best Politics Piece<br /></strong>The <em>Economist</em>'s cover story<em></em>makes effortless sense of our troubled banks and suggests a clear, specific course of action. </p>
<p><strong>Best Culture Piece<br /></strong><em>Esquire </em> <a href="http://www.esquire.com/features/thousand-words-on-culture/women-having-sex-0609">analyzes</a> the complex modern woman and why she &quot;doesn't want to have sex with you.&quot;</p>
<p><strong>Serious Take on a Fluffy Topic<br /></strong>Ever groan when you saw <em>another </em>pseudo-scientific story on happiness on the cover of <em>Time </em>or <em>Newsweek</em>? The <em>Atlantic</em>'s <a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200906/happiness">story</a> on a 70-year Harvard happiness experiment is just what you've been waiting for.</p>Fri, 15 May 2009 22:06:00 GMThttp://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/other_magazines/2009/05/work_20.htmlDavid Sessions2009-05-15T22:06:00ZTime on the future of American jobs.News and PoliticsWhat's in the Economist, Reason, and the New York Times Magazine.2218401David SessionsOther Magazineshttp://www.slate.com/id/2218401falsefalsefalseThis Is Your Brain on Moneyhttp://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/other_magazines/2009/05/this_is_your_brain_on_money.html
<p><strong><em> New York</em></strong><strong>, May 18</strong> The <a href="http://nymag.com/news/features/56623">cover story</a> analyzes New York City's &quot;withdrawal&quot; from money. One scientist who studies the brain on money has found that having less cash to worry about makes people more generous and communal. Wealth has so fundamentally shaped New York's recent identity that its &quot;sudden absence&quot; will surely alter the way people think and behave. The changes are mostly for the better: a more affordable, civic-minded city with increased economic diversity. &quot;It's possible we'll end up with the good parts of the seventies—a rich, Bohemian culture—and not the bad,&quot; says one sociologist. <strong>…</strong> An <a href="http://nymag.com/news/features/56609/">infographic</a> presents a fascinating, albeit creepy, look at what lies beneath New York's rivers. A Columbia University river-scanning project provides the imagery, supplemented with the locations of a shipwreck, a runaway train, millions of dollars and silver bars, stripped cars, and cement-eating worms.</p>
<p><strong><em> The New Yorker</em></strong>, May 18 An <a href="http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2009/05/18/090518fa_fact_lehrer?currentPage=all">article</a> explores the &quot;science of self-control,&quot; discovering that the ability to delay gratification may be more genetic than we previously knew. Walter Mischel, the scientist who designed a classic experiment with kids and marshmallows in the 1960s, is still studying self-control. The kids who could resist the marshmallow are still &quot;high delayers&quot; as adults, better able to manage the &quot;hot emotions&quot; that are often a byproduct of ignoring strong desires. The trick, he thinks, is a kind of intentional distraction—by outsmarting their own brains, people can overcome instinctive behaviors. <strong>…</strong> An <a href="http://www.newyorker.com/talk/comment/2009/05/18/090518taco_talk_hertzberg">article</a> reviews the array of odd controversies related to President Obama's commencement speaking engagements. There's Arizona State's awkward shuffling over whether to give Obama an honorary degree, as well as the loud Catholic protest against Obama's appearance at Notre Dame. Meanwhile, the midshipmen at Annapolis, Obama's third destination, have uttered &quot;not a peep.&quot;</p>
<p><strong><em> Atlantic</em></strong><strong>, June 2009</strong> The <a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200906/happiness">cover story</a> dusts off a &quot;longitudinal study&quot;—a study of large amounts of data from a small sample—that has followed the lives of several male Harvard graduates for the past 70 years. The men were analyzed from &quot;every conceivable angle,&quot; resulting in a study so colossal and complex that it soon &quot;needed a storyteller.&quot; That man was George Vaillant, who took over the Grant Study in 1967. He hasn't uncovered a set of rules for a happy life in his subsequent 42 years on the project, but he insists that social relationships play the largest role in health and longevity. <strong>…</strong> An article <a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200906/bankrupcy">argues</a> that the United States' lenient bankruptcy rules keep the economy healthy. They &quot;reduce the cost of failure, and people become more willing to take risks. America's business environment is much more dynamic than that of Europe or Japan, for many reasons—and our generosity to capitalism's losers is one of them.&quot;</p>
<p><strong><em> Weekly Standard</em></strong>, May 18 The <a href="http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/016/484gmzem.asp">cover story</a> follows radical education theorist Bill Ayers to an annual conference of the American Educational Research Association. Talks at the highly politicized event—the association moved some meetings out of a San Diego Hyatt after it learned that the hotel's owner supported Proposition 8—mostly bashed standardized testing and any sort of education that involved &quot;right answers.&quot; They also featured ample musings on Marxism, racism, and &quot;social justice.&quot; The author expresses amusement at the absurdity of the proceedings and wonders whether the only way to save education is to close educational schools down. <strong>…</strong> An <a href="http://weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/016/478dsbrm.asp">article</a> encourages Republicans to &quot;be the party of 'no,' &quot; arguing that &quot;unbridled opposition to bad Democratic policies&quot; led to at least five previous Republican landslides. The GOP may be hesitant to oppose the popular president, but it shouldn't be: &quot;Opposing Obama across-the-board on his sweeping domestic initiatives makes sense on substance and politics.&quot;</p>
<p><strong><em> Esquire</em></strong>, June 2009 A.J. Jacobs undergoes a scientific examination to determine whether he loves his wife. Researchers are sorting through the chemical concoction that makes up romance, attachment, and sexual attraction by performing fMRIs on subjects who are madly in love. Married for nine years and the father of three kids, Jacobs is their first non-love-crazed guinea pig, but his results prove he loves his wife &quot;in a more complicated way,&quot; one that acknowledges trouble and risk. He finds that reducing love to biology &quot;takes always some of the mystery—but also the fear.&quot;<strong>…</strong> An <a href="http://www.esquire.com/features/thousand-words-on-culture/women-having-sex-0609">article</a> wonders about the disappearance of &quot;loose women,&quot; who seem to have been replaced by sophisticated, choosy women with lots of other priorities besides sex. &quot;The post-post-feminist maelstrom that is Danica Patrick and the Real Housewives of Wherever and Secretary Clinton versus Beauty Queen Palin means that women can wield real power, but it comes at the cost of confusion—professional, social, and sexual.&quot;</p>Tue, 12 May 2009 21:48:00 GMThttp://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/other_magazines/2009/05/this_is_your_brain_on_money.htmlDavid Sessions2009-05-12T21:48:00ZNew York diagnoses the city's cash withdrawal.News and PoliticsWhat's in The New Yorker, Esquire, and Atlantic.2218272David SessionsOther Magazineshttp://www.slate.com/id/2218272falsefalsefalseIraq Attacks Recall&nbsp;Dark Dayshttp://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/todays_papers/2009/04/iraq_attacks_recalldark_days.html
<p>The<em> <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/pages/todayspaper/index.html">New York Times</a></em>leads with, and the <em> <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/print/">Washington Post</a></em>and <em> <a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/front/">Los Angeles Times</a></em>front, <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/25/world/middleeast/25iraq.html?ref=todayspaper">two deadly&nbsp;bombings</a> in Iraq yesterday that put the country's two-day death toll at more than 150. Sunni insurgent groups took responsibility for the attacks, which fueled worry that the country might explode into sectarian violence as the&nbsp;United States&nbsp;withdraws. The <em>Washington Post </em>leads with <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/24/AR2009042403171.html">a 2002 document</a> from the military agency that advised on harsh interrogation techniques. The memo, which the paper obtained, refers to &quot;extreme duress&quot; techniques as &quot;torture&quot; and warns that such methods will produce &quot;unreliable information.&quot; The <em>Wall Street Journal </em>leads with federal officials pressuring banks to bolster capital reserves after being subjected to &quot;stress tests.&quot; The <em>Los Angeles Times </em>leads with (and the <em>WP </em>fronts) an outbreak of <a href="http://www.latimes.com/features/health/la-sci-mexico-swine-flu25-2009apr25,0,3847221.story">deadly swine flu</a> in Mexico that has infected at least 1,000 people, including a few in California and Texas. </p>
<p>Double attacks in Iraq yesterday appear to have effectively spread alarm that sectarian violence might again destabilize the country. The <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/25/world/middleeast/25iraq.html?ref=todayspaper">twin suicide bombings</a> hit outside Baghdad's most revered Shiite shrine; a loose Sunni coalition called the Islamic State of Iraq, according to the <em>NYT</em>, claimed responsibility. Iraq's prime minister ordered an unusual investigatory committee to identify the perpetrators and lapses in security that allowed the attacks to happen. The <em>WP </em> <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/24/AR2009042401100_2.html?sid=ST2009042302380">adds</a> that many Iraqis see the attacks as a sign that insurgent groups have been lying low until the United States&nbsp;withdraws. The <em>LAT </em> <a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-iraq-bombs25-2009apr25,0,2406582.story">doubts</a> the violence will interfere with President Obama's plans to remove U.S. troops from the city by the end of June. </p>
<p>It is unclear&nbsp;whether&nbsp;high-ranking Bush administration officials ever saw an unsigned, two-page attachment to a 2002 memo prepared by the Joint Personnel Recovery Agency, which advised the military on harsh interrogation methods. The <em>WP </em> <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/24/AR2009042403171.html">reports</a> that the memo, originally sent to the Pentagon's top lawyer, warned that &quot;the unintended consequence of a U.S. policy that provides for the torture of prisoners is that it could be used by our adversaries as justification for the torture of captured U.S. personnel.&quot; <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/24/AR2009042403888.html">A related <em>WP </em>story</a> reveals that 9<sup>th</sup> Circuit appellate Judge John S. Bybee, a former Bush administration lawyer, says he regrets signing the now-infamous &quot;torture memos.&quot;</p>
<p>The federal government is pressuring &quot;at least three banks,&quot; the identities of which couldn't be determined, to bolster their capital reserves, reports the <em>WSJ</em>'s<em></em> <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124058562318953065.html#mod=testMod">top story.</a> The paper's anonymous sources &quot;believe [the banks in question] likely include regional banks with large exposures to commercial real estate in the Midwest and Southeast.&quot; Nineteen banking institutions underwent &quot;stress tests&quot;—examinations by 150 federal regulators to determine potential losses from &quot;complex security products.&quot;</p>
<p>A deadly swine flu, which lands on several front pages, has killed several—the <em> <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124058255179552887.html#mod=todays_us_page_one">WSJ</a></em>says 20; the <em> <a href="http://www.latimes.com/features/health/la-sci-mexico-swine-flu25-2009apr25,0,3847221.story">LAT</a>, </em>60<em>; </em>the <em> <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/24/AR2009042404075.html">WP</a></em>, 68—and may have infected as many as 1,000 in Mexico during the past several weeks. Most of the documented cases and all of the confirmed deaths have happened near Mexico City, where all schools, universities, and libraries were closed and residents warned to stay in their homes. The U.S. State Department has not issued a travel advisory, but some airlines say they will waive penalties for travelers who wish to cancel their trips.</p>
<p>The <em>WSJ </em>reports that Chrysler<em></em> <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124059075827353331.html#mod=testMod">has softened its stance</a> toward a debt restructuring plan that it previously opposed. Lenders agreed to trim their secured debt by $750 million, but they're still far from an agreement with the government. (Lenders are demanding, for example, 40 percent of the revamped company, while the government wants them to keep only about 5 percent.) The lenders complain that their concessions are helping out the ailing Italian automaker Fiat, which will be getting a 20 percent stake in Chrysler &quot;without putting a dollar of its own capital at risk.&quot;</p>
<p>Movie critics hand all-around pans to <em>Obsessed</em>, which the <em>NYT</em> <a href="http://movies.nytimes.com/2009/04/25/movies/25obse.html?ref=todayspaper">calls</a> a cheap imitation of <em>Fatal Attraction </em>with lead actors that look creepily like O.J. and Nicole Brown Simpson. Not that the jury was still out, but the <em>WP</em>'s <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/24/AR2009042403834.html">verdict</a> is that Beyonc&eacute;<em></em>&quot;cannot act. … Neither can Sasha Fierce.&quot;</p>
<p>A front-page <em> <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124061372413054653.html#mod=todays_us_page_one">WSJ profile</a></em> interviews various members of Bill Gates' family to dig up details about his childhood and relationship with his parents. Bill Jr. became a strong-willed, independent child around age 11, devouring books voraciously and frequently getting into bitter verbal disputes with his mother. His father, Bill Gates Sr., took the role of peacemaker, only once losing his cool enough to douse Gates with a glass of cold water during an intense argument. Gates' parents have been active in his professional pursuits since day one—his father became Microsoft's lawyer in its early years, and his mother urged him to put his wealth toward philanthropy. Gates Sr., who says he never imagined his sarcastic, rebellious son becoming his employer, now heads the $30 billion Bill &amp; Melinda Gates Foundation.</p>
<p>The <em>WP </em>editorial page <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/24/AR2009042403517.html">admits</a> that it found last week's Twitter race between Ashton Kutcher and CNN frivolous until the showdown resulted in 10,000 mosquito nets being sent to Africa to help fight malaria. &quot;On this World Malaria Day, such efforts by private citizens and businesses … are to be applauded.&quot;</p>Sat, 25 Apr 2009 07:59:00 GMThttp://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/todays_papers/2009/04/iraq_attacks_recalldark_days.htmlDavid Sessions2009-04-25T07:59:00ZNews and PoliticsThe papers on&nbsp;bombings in Iraq&nbsp;and a swine flu outbreak&nbsp;in&nbsp;Mexico.2216975David SessionsToday's Papershttp://www.slate.com/id/2216975falsefalsefalseFathering Linehttp://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/other_magazines/2009/04/fathering_line.html
<p><strong><em> New York Times Magazine</em></strong>, April 26 Christopher Buckley <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/26/magazine/26buckley-t.html?ref=magazine">memorializes</a> his parents, William F. and Patricia Buckley, in a series of darkly comical vignettes. Most of the stories show &quot;Christo&quot; learning to find humor in the Buckleys' inconsiderate behavior and his efforts to forgive them for their failures before they passed. But underneath Buckley's acid wit is a devotion to and deep admiration for his late parents, poignantly illustrated in a scene where his dying father dictates to him the final lines of a memoir. &quot;My eyes misted up as I typed,&quot; the son writes. &quot;I was, for the 1,000<sup>th</sup> time in my life, in awe of him.&quot;<strong>…</strong> Virginia Heffernan studies reader responses to <em>Washington Post </em> and <strong><em>Slate</em></strong> columnist Anne Applebaum in search of ways to improve online feedback. The outlook is bleak: &quot;Maybe nothing can—or even should—be done to curb entirely the brute urge of readers to defy what they've read.&quot;</p>
<p><strong><em> Time</em></strong>, May 4 In the <a href="http://www.time.com/time/politics/article/0,8599,1893277,00.html">cover story</a>, Joe Klein grades Barack Obama's first 100 days in office, concluding that this administration &quot;is as serious and challenging a presidency as we have had in quite some time.&quot; The Bush administration has been a &quot;convenient foil,&quot; and Obama is lucky to have the reeling Republicans as opponents, but his legislative achievements are &quot;stupendous.&quot; He has changed the national mood, one of the most important tasks of a new president. But it could all revert if his policies prove inadequate to the monumental challenges they hope to address. <strong>…</strong> An <a href="http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1892974,00.html">article</a> jokingly wonders if the United States should call Texas Gov. Rick Perry's bluff and let the Lone Star State secede. Since one in five Americans thinks states should be allowed to leave, &quot;maybe every couple of hundred years, the country should have the debate, just to keep our muscles warm.&quot;</p>
<p><strong><em> Texas</em></strong><strong><em> Monthly</em>, May 2009<br /></strong> An article tells the heart-wrenching tale of John McClamrock, a Dallas man paralyzed by a vicious football tackle in 1973, when he was 17. McClamrock became a local hero and received nationwide attention after his accident, even getting a handwritten note from President Nixon. But long after the world forgot him, McClamrock's mother, who had already lost two husbands and a son, sat by his bedside six days a week. Her nightly prayer was that she would live one day longer than John, &quot;because I can't leave him.&quot;<strong>…</strong> An article profiles Sir Robert Allen Stanford, the &quot;simultaneously flamboyant and secretive Texas billionaire&quot; who masterminded an international Ponzi scheme out of Houston before sparking an investigation in February. Like Bernie Madoff,&nbsp;Stanford played to his clients' desire to belong to an exclusive club. Instead of Upper East Side snobbery, he sold his naive investors on &quot;the style and values of Texas.&quot;</p>
<p><strong><em> Economist</em></strong>, April 25 The <a href="http://www.economist.com/opinion/displayStory.cfm?story_id=13527685&amp;source=hptextfeature">cover story</a> sees glimmers of hope for the world economy but cautions against premature celebration: &quot;Optimism is one thing, but hubris that the world economy is returning to normal could hinder recovery and block policies to protect against a further plunge into the depths.&quot; The economic slump is slowing thanks to an &quot;unsustainable transfusion,&quot; but the darkest days and hardest work are still ahead. <strong>…</strong> An <a href="http://www.economist.com/opinion/displaystory.cfm?story_id=13527695">article</a> gives British Prime Minister Gordon Brown his last warning, arguing that the budget he presented this week is &quot;downright dishonest&quot; and that his recent behavior makes him look Nixonian—&quot;shifty, angry and with a list of enemies to smear.&quot; His budget is so overly optimistic—it depends on drastic, unlikely spending cuts—that it resembles &quot;one of those childish excuses that begin with a little exaggeration and morph into outright falsehood.&quot;</p>
<p><strong><em> Esquire</em></strong>, May 2009 The cover package explores &quot;how to be a man in 2009.&quot; An <a href="http://www.esquire.com/features/what-is-a-man-0509/features/what-is-a-man-0509?click=main_sr">essay</a> conceptualizes the ideal man; a &quot;<a href="http://www.esquire.com/features/list-of-men-0509">list of men</a>&quot; presents the roster of men who should be emulated; a self-improvement <a href="http://www.esquire.com/features/ask-dr-oz/dr-oz-advice-0509?click=main_sr">guide</a> urges men to &quot;lose weight, make money, have more sex&quot;; a <a href="http://www.esquire.com/features/life-skills-0509?click=pp">list</a> lays out the essential life skills every real man should have. <strong>…</strong> A <a href="http://www.esquire.com/features/todd-palin-bio-0509">profile</a> examines Todd Palin's life as manager of the teeming Palin household in Wasilla, Alaska. He uses his BlackBerry to keep in touch with Sarah and to monitor Google news alerts about her. (His daughter Willow urges him to put it away when reporters are around because his slow typing embarrasses her.) Most days, Todd shares baby-sitting duties with his oldest daughter, Bristol. He sometimes goes to meetings in his wife's place if she needs some time at home. Then he ducks out of the house to get his sleds ready for the snowmobile racing season.</p>
<p><strong>Must Read</strong><br /><em>Texas Monthly</em>'s story on paralyzed high-school football player John McClamrock is a moving page turner that's worth the cover price.</p>
<p><strong>Must Skip<br /></strong>It's got a few good tips, but <em>Esquire</em>'s &quot;how to be a man&quot; <a href="http://www.esquire.com/features/what-is-a-man-0509/features/what-is-a-man-0509?click=main_sr">package</a> is primarily a collection of well-worn, stereotypical lifestyle advice.</p>
<p><strong>Best Politics Piece<br /></strong>A <em>Weekly Standard </em> <a href="http://weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/016/394aanvs.asp">essay</a> on the Republican Party's existential crisis calls out superficial discussions of party &quot;branding.&quot;</p>
<p><strong>Best Culture Piece<br /></strong>Christopher Buckley's <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/26/magazine/26buckley-t.html?ref=magazine">memories</a> of his late parents in the <em>New York Times Magazine </em>paint a fascinating portrait of a family with deep personal and ideological rifts.</p>
<p><strong>If You've Got Six Hours To Spare …<br /></strong>… then you might check out some of this week's great but dizzyingly long pieces: the<em> New Republic</em>'s <a href="http://www.tnr.com/politics/story.html?id=4edb8efe-e851-4133-b2b1-419bd957e926">cover story</a> on Obama's governing philosophy and <em>The New Yorker</em>'s comparison of American and Japanese auto manufacturing.</p>Fri, 24 Apr 2009 21:13:00 GMThttp://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/other_magazines/2009/04/fathering_line.htmlDavid Sessions2009-04-24T21:13:00ZChristopher Buckley remembers his parents in the New York Times Magazine.News and PoliticsWhat's new in Time, the Economist, and Texas Monthly.2216889David SessionsOther Magazineshttp://www.slate.com/id/2216889falsefalsefalseElitist Ragehttp://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/other_magazines/2009/04/elitist_rage.html
<p><strong><em> New York</em></strong><strong>, April 27<br /></strong> The <a href="http://nymag.com/news/businessfinance/56151/index.html">cover story</a> listens to the &quot;wail of the 1 percent&quot;—Wall Street millionaires saying the financial crisis wasn't their fault. Many Wall Streeters who &quot;grew up&quot; in the housing bubble saw themselves as &quot;fighter pilots of capitalism&quot;—the people who earned seven figures and donated to charity, went to restaurants, bought art, and paid taxes to keep streets clean. Now they face a future where banking may become a boring, riskless profession. <strong>… </strong> An <a href="http://nymag.com/news/businessfinance/56164/">article</a> wonders whether New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, who has made himself the &quot;prime agent of populist rage,&quot; is already the next governor. The financial crisis has enabled him to manipulate public sentiment in his favor &quot;with well-timed leaks and subpoenas.&quot; Famously aggressive, Cuomo has learned to sit back and &quot;feign uninterest&quot; in the job while his primary opponent, sitting Gov. David Paterson, has been &quot;racking up a string of unforced errors.&quot;</p>
<p><strong><em> The New Yorker</em></strong>, April 27 An article compares the Japanese manufacturing philosophy with that of America's dysfunctional automakers. Workers at a Nissan plant in Smyrna, Tenn., make less than their Detroit counterparts but have no interest in unionizing. They work as a team with their superiors, are encouraged to move up in the company, and rotate between jobs to stave off the monotony of the assembly line. Detroit, mired in dysfunctional, outdated relationships with unions, has a lot of catching up to do. <strong>…</strong> An article explains how Harvard's Lowell House came to possess 18 iron bells from a Russian monastery. After Stalin banned bell-ringing, an American philanthropist purchased them for &quot;scrap metal prices.&quot; They were some of the few great Russian bells to escape the country. Bells &quot;occupy a mysterious important position&quot; in Russian church culture and are believed to have &quot;voices&quot; rather than musical tones.</p>
<p><strong><em> Newsweek,</em></strong> April 27 The <a href="http://www.newsweek.com/id/194590">cover story</a> catches up with former New York Gov. (and <strong><em>Slate</em></strong> columnist) Eliot Spitzer, who is finding new channels of influence as an economic commentator. Spitzer doesn't deny that he's trying to refurbish his image but insists the makeover is not about running for office again. He has accepted the rules of the political game and settled into a routine of writing, walking his dogs, and catching up with friends. Much as he regrets his exile from Albany, he's not inclined to be introspective about his downfall. <strong>…</strong> An <a href="http://www.newsweek.com/id/194651">article</a> argues that conservative objections to Harold Koh, the &quot;transnationalist&quot; lawyer President Obama appointed to lead the State Department legal team, should be taken seriously. Taken to its logical conclusion, Koh's legal philosophy, which would require the United States to submit even to treaties we do not ratify, &quot;could erode American democracy and sovereignty.&quot;</p>
<p><strong><em> New Republic</em></strong>, May 6 The <a href="http://www.tnr.com/politics/story.html?id=4edb8efe-e851-4133-b2b1-419bd957e926">cover story</a> traces the contours of President Obama's political philosophy, concluding that he &quot;has set out to synthesize the New Democratic faith in the utility of markets with the Old Democratic emphasis on reducing inequality.&quot; In many ways, Obama's ideas resemble Bill Clinton's—both believe government should harness private incentives and &quot;steer, not row&quot; the economy. But Obama's team, which includes many Clintonites, has learned past lessons about keeping government out of the market and &quot;groped toward a form of liberal activism that is eminently saleable in this country.&quot;<strong> …</strong> An <a href="http://www.tnr.com/politics/story.html?id=33037aaf-848f-4b79-8a75-34d6c793457e">article</a> hunts, without much success, for the secretive Matt Drudge. Drudge, whose news-driving Web site charts 20 million hits per day, hasn't made a public appearance since June of last year. It's only known that he lives in Miami, frequently travels the world with his portable operation, and keeps in touch with top conservative pundits.</p>
<p><strong><em> Weekly Standard, April 27</em></strong> An <a href="http://weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/016/394aanvs.asp">article</a> scoffs at ubiquitous analysis of the &quot;Republican brand,&quot; arguing that the party's problems cannot be reduced to aesthetics and marketing. The conservative crisis &quot;demands that we revisit our core principles and apply them to formulate compelling solutions to a host of challenges to American prosperity and leadership.&quot; Republicans will never come back until they attempt to address &quot;the needs and aspirations of the people whose votes they seek to win.&quot;<strong>…</strong> The <a href="http://weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/016/399qukib.asp">cover story</a> follows a group of veterans, some missing limbs, who made a six-day bicycle trip between San Antonio and Dallas. The narrative is meandering, full of battlefield stories and leisurely conversations held on and off the road. One soldier with two amputated legs calls the author a &quot;f---ing pussy&quot; for only &quot;hoping&quot; to finish the ride, an insult that sparks an unexpected friendship. And Adam Baldwin of NBC's <em>Chuck</em> comes along and proves he's &quot;not your typical celebrity.&quot;</p>Tue, 21 Apr 2009 20:55:00 GMThttp://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/other_magazines/2009/04/elitist_rage.htmlDavid Sessions2009-04-21T20:55:00ZNew York on the plight of the privileged class.News and PoliticsWhat's new in the New Republic, Newsweek, and The New Yorker.2216526David SessionsOther Magazineshttp://www.slate.com/id/2216526falsefalsefalseHere Come the Bombshttp://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/todays_papers/2009/04/here_come_the_bombs.html
<p>The <em> <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/pages/todayspaper/index.html">New York Times</a></em>and the <em> <a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/front/">Los Angeles Times</a></em> &nbsp;lead with, and <em> <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/print/index.html">Washington Post</a></em>fronts, the late-breaking news that North Korea launched a long-range missile at about 10:30 p.m. EDT on Saturday night, in open defiance to&nbsp;&quot;the United States, China, and a series&nbsp;of U.N. resolutions,&quot; the <em>NYT </em> <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/05/world/asia/05korea.html?ref=todayspaper">reports</a>. Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates predicted the launch this week and said the administration had no plans to interfere. The <em>LAT </em> <a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-north-korea-rocket5-2009apr05,0,4003556.story">quotes</a> President Obama from Prague calling the launch &quot;provocative&quot; and capturing Western leaders' view that the missile test is part of North Korea's well-known nuclear ambitions. The <em>WP </em> <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/04/AR2009040403239.html?hpid=topnews">adds</a>, in a story with a Tokyo dateline, that the missile floated over Japan,&nbsp;but the&nbsp;Japanese government did not deploy its missile-defense system. The rocket's second stage fell into the Pacific Ocean, proving North Korea's ability to successfully&nbsp;launch a multistage weapon.</p>
<p>The <em>Washington</em><em> Post </em>leads with delays in the &quot;landmark&quot; $1.4 billion in aid that the U.S. government pledged to Mexico for its large-scale fight against drug traffickers. Congress appropriated the first $400 million last June, but by December, only $197 million had been dispersed—only two small projects have been completed. Mexican President Felipe Calder&oacute;n has doubled his defense budget and deployed 45,000 troops in the most ambitious effort to control Mexico's drug cartels in history. Calder&oacute;n and others previously involved in the partnership see the delays as an example of the way &quot;the U.S. government, while praising Calder&oacute;n as a courageous crime-fighter, is leaving him hanging out to dry.&quot;</p>
<p>As protestors raged outside in Strausbourg, France, President Obama stressed to NATO leaders that defeating al-Qaida should be the primary goal in Afghanistan, overshadowing even important human rights outcomes the NATO nations hope to encourage. The administration has increasingly seen a need to create limited, reachable goals in the deteriorating country and hoped to include European leaders in the planned troop increases. Europe committed only 5,000 troops compared&nbsp;with the United States' planned increase of 30,000, and 3,000 of those will be deployed only temporarily. The <em>NYT </em>sees it as a &quot;brushing aside&quot; of Obama's requests, but the <em>WP</em> <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/04/AR2009040402594.html">calls</a> the small commitment &quot;a sweeping demonstration of support for the new administration's leadership.&quot;</p>
<p>Another <em>WP</em> story takes an aerial view of Obama's European tour so far, <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/04/AR2009040400700.html?hpid=topnews">lengthily dissecting</a> the &quot;sharp change in tone&quot; that characterized the president's dealings with G20 leaders last week. Several experts weigh in on the president's &quot;tone,&quot; noting that, on issues like Iraq, Afghanistan, and the Israel-Palestine conflict, Obama has changed the style a lot more than the substance. </p>
<p>The <em>NYT</em> <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/05/nyregion/05suspect.html?ref=todayspaper">digs into</a> the final days of Jiverly Wong, the gunman who killed 13 at a civics center in Binghamton, N.Y., on&nbsp;Friday. There were &quot;hints of mounting frustration and evidence of premeditation&quot; before what increasingly looks like a recession-fueled rampage. Wong had lost his job and was living on $200 a week in unemployment benefits, frustrated with his poor English and his inability to find financial stability. The <em>LAT </em>also <a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-binghamton-shooting5-2009apr05,0,7271187.story">fronts</a> a follow-up story on the Binghamton shootings, landing a few quotes from members of the killer's family.</p>
<p>A heartbreaking front-page <em>NYT </em>story <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/05/world/asia/05kidnap.html?ref=todayspaper">calls attention</a> to child trafficking in China, most of it fueled by families so desperate to produce a male heir that they'll steal someone else's if they have to. &quot;A girl is just not as good as a son,&quot; says one Chinese tea farmer who recently paid $3,500 for an abducted boy. &quot;It doesn't matter how much money you have. If you don't have a son, you are not as good as other people who have one.&quot; Anguished Chinese parents find the police indifferent—even when they obtain video footage of their children being abducted—because opening missing-person reports is institutionally discouraged. Beijing has also shut down parents' groups who have tried to call attention to the issue.</p>
<p>The <em>LAT</em> off-lead<em></em> <a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-me-serialkillers5-2009apr05,0,2434292.story">has an</a> equally unsettling revelation and this one a lot closer to home: The FBI suspects a ring of serial killers disguising themselves as long-haul truckers in the killings of &quot;hundreds of prostitutes, hitchhikers and stranded motorists.&quot; A series of unsolved murders along Interstate 40 in Oklahoma led to the creation of the Highway Serial Killings Initiative, which now has information on&nbsp;more than&nbsp;500 female crime victims. Investigators speculate that the nature of trucking—mobility, lack of oversight, access to victims—makes it an ideal cover for mass killers.</p>
<p>The <em>WP </em>Sunday &quot;Style&quot; section <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/02/AR2009040204294.html">excavates</a> American suspicion of do-gooding celebrities, especially stars who make multiple highly publicized attempts to adopt foreign children. Some celebrities—Madonna for example—are so culturally associated with self-indulgent behavior that we're hesitant to believe they'll do <em>anything </em>without an ulterior motive. &quot;Throw in photos of [Madonna] in sunglasses, camouflage cargo pants and layered T-shirts against the backdrop of an impoverished Malawi as she searches for an orphan to adopt, and the stench of self-aggrandizement is nearly overwhelming.&quot; When stars <em>are </em>sincerely interested in making the world a better place, their celebrity can be more of a punishment than anything.</p>
<p>The <em>NYT </em>briefly <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/05/nyregion/thecity/05disp.html?ref=todayspaper">profiles</a> Matt Muro, creator of the blog &quot;<a href="http://www.peoplewhositinthedisabilityseatswhenimstandingonmycrutches.com/">People Who Sit in the Disability Seats When I'm Standing on My Crutches</a>.&quot; Muro started the blog when, temporarily on crutches, he needed a way to channel his outrage at healthy commuters who occupy reserved seats on New York subway trains.</p>Sun, 05 Apr 2009 07:33:00 GMThttp://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/todays_papers/2009/04/here_come_the_bombs.htmlDavid Sessions2009-04-05T07:33:00ZNews and PoliticsThe papers on North Korea's late-night&nbsp;missile launch.2215434David SessionsToday's Papershttp://www.slate.com/id/2215434falsefalsefalseOn-the-Job Traininghttp://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/other_magazines/2009/03/onthejob_training.html
<p><strong><em> Economist</em></strong>, March 28 The <a href="http://www.economist.com/printedition/displayStory.cfm?Story_ID=13362895">cover story</a> expresses disappointment in President Obama, who has been &quot;curiously feeble&quot; on domestic policy for a president who won so decisively on domestic issues. The stimulus bill explains much of the problem: He did not include Republicans in the process and let his own party &quot;mess him around.&quot; Obama was also slow to announce his toxic-assets plan and has yet to fill crucial Treasury Department positions. There are signs his administration is getting things together, but he &quot;has a long way to travel if he is to serve his country—and the world—as he should.&quot;<strong>…</strong> An <a href="http://www.economist.com/finance/displaystory.cfm?story_id=13376319">article</a> picks apart Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner's troubled assets relief program, warning that &quot;some economists have denounced [it] as a disguised subsidy posing as a market solution.&quot; Its biggest obstacle may be sellers who would rather hold on to their loans in hope of recouping more of the money later.</p>
<p><strong><em> New York Times Magazine</em></strong>, March 29 An article profiles 85-year-old Freeman Dyson, a revered physicist who is cooling friendships by questioning climate change orthodoxy. Dyson is an &quot;Obama-loving, Bush-loathing liberal who has spent his life opposing American wars and fighting for the protection of natural resources,&quot; but he has a &quot;withering aversion&quot; to scientific consensus. He believes scientists' large-scale groupthink convinces them of their own rightness, and, in the case of global warming, distracts them from more deadly problems. Al Gore is &quot;a good preacher,&quot; Dyson says, but he knew Gore's sources personally and wishes they were around to speak for themselves. <strong>…</strong> An article profiles Neil LaBute, whose new play, <em>reasons to be pretty</em>, makes its Broadway debut this week. LaBute's friends say he's a nice, even-tempered person, but he wants his plays to wound—&quot;to ruin a perfectly good day for people.&quot;</p>
<p><strong><em> Time</em></strong>, April 6 The <a href="http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1887728-1,00.html">cover story</a> argues that the recession will bring an end to the spirit of excess that began in the 1980s and persisted &quot;like an awesome winning streak in Vegas that went on and on and on.&quot; Getting through these hard times will be like overcoming an addiction, but we'll emerge a more sensible, responsible nation. <strong>…</strong> An <a href="http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1887864,00.html">article</a> surveys the wreckage of Detroit: &quot;Feral dogs and pheasants stalk streets with debris strewn like driftwood: an empty mail crate, a discarded winter jacket, a bunny-eared TV in tall grass.&quot; With a 13 percent unemployment rate and little hope of recovery, the city has become a &quot;laboratory&quot; for urban visionaries hoping to test out solutions to urban decline. To come back, Detroit will have to be &quot;denser, greener.&quot; Some are already sprucing up the ailing city's dead zones with urban farms and art installations.</p>
<p><strong><em> Reason</em></strong>, April 2009 The <a href="http://reason.com/news/show/131972.html">cover story</a> by Radley Balko reveals proof that a doctor-dentist team in Louisiana manufactured evidence that led to a death row conviction. (One was caught on <a href="http://reason.com/news/show/131527.html">video</a> pressing a mold of the defendant's teeth into a corpse to create fake bite marks.) Several convictions based on the controversial pair's testimony have been overturned, but officials are ignoring the scope of their damage to the criminal justice system. <strong>…</strong> An <a href="http://reason.com/news/show/131968.html">article</a> argues that if President Obama's stimulus package works, it will be &quot;the first time in recorded history.&quot; According to papers written by Obama's own economists, &quot;huge gold inflows in the mid- and late-1930s&quot; spurred the recovery more so than the New Deal. World War II spending didn't stimulate much, either: &quot;Military spending had no effect on consumption.&quot; Stimulus packages assume people are stupid and forget that to inject money into the economy, the government first has to take it out.</p>
<p><strong><em> The Nation,</em></strong> April 13 An <a href="http://www.thenation.com/doc/20090413/berman">article</a> investigates &quot;clean coal,&quot; an expensive rebranding effort launched by American coal industry to convince consumers that it's committed to conservation. Most environmental activists see &quot;clean coal&quot; as the equivalent of a &quot;healthy cigarette.&quot; Much like tobacco companies kept doubt alive about whether cigarettes cause cancer, the coal industry intentionally casts doubts on environmental science. But some do seem at least half-interested in solutions like carbon-capture systems, which store CO <sub>2</sub> emissions deep underground instead of pumping them into the atmosphere. <strong>…</strong> An <a href="http://www.thenation.com/doc/20090413/editors">editorial</a> criticizes Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner for being &quot;single-mindedly wedded to the goal of restoring the financial system to the way it was.&quot; His toxic-assets plan depends too much on the &quot;expertise of the market&quot; and lays most of the risk on taxpayers. Its low odds of success put the president's budget—&quot;a smart, long-term bet on this country's future&quot;—in danger.</p>
<p><strong>Must Read<br /></strong><em>The New Yorker</em>'s <a href="http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2009/03/30/090330fa_fact_gawande?currentPage=all">examination</a> of solitary confinement is vivid, horrifying, and enlightening.</p>
<p><strong>Must Skip<br /></strong><em>Time</em>'s absurdly long <a href="http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1887728-1,00.html">cover story</a> on the recession tries out an array of quirky metaphors for ideas that have <a href="http://www.newsweek.com/id/163449">already been addressed</a>.</p>
<p><strong>Best Politics Piece<br /></strong>Matt Taibbi's detailed, lucid <a href="http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/story/26793903/the_big_takeover/print">overview</a> of the financial crisis in <em>Rolling Stone </em>is the perfect primer for those still struggling to understand the mess we're in.</p>
<p><strong>Best Culture Piece<br /></strong><em>New York Times Magazine</em>'s profile of climate change skeptic Freeman Dyson. Read it.</p>
<p><strong>Latest to the Party<br /></strong><em>Rolling Stone</em>'s cover story on <em>Gossip Girl </em>sums up the zeitgeisty teen soap as well as any, but who doesn't know this stuff by now?</p>Fri, 27 Mar 2009 23:11:00 GMThttp://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/other_magazines/2009/03/onthejob_training.htmlDavid Sessions2009-03-27T23:11:00ZThe Economist on President's Obama's hard lessons.News and PoliticsWhat's new in Time, the New York Times Magazine, and Reason.2214802David SessionsOther Magazineshttp://www.slate.com/id/2214802falsefalsefalseRage Against the Machinehttp://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/other_magazines/2009/03/rage_against_the_machine.html
<p><strong><em> Newsweek,</em></strong> March 30 The cover package is a series of takes on the benefits and dangers of &quot;populist rage.&quot; The <a href="http://www.newsweek.com/id/190341">introduction</a> takes a historical tour of populism, which began in the late 19<sup>th</sup> century as citizens from small towns and mining centers targeted &quot;economic tycoons who betrayed the public.&quot; Robert J. Samuelson <a href="http://www.newsweek.com/id/190347">praises</a> the adaptability of American capitalism but warns that populist outrage could &quot;veer into a vindictive retribution.&quot; Joel Kotkin <a href="http://www.newsweek.com/id/190346">argues</a> that populism can raise powerful support for reform and that the Obama administration&nbsp;hasn't used it enough against Wall Street. <strong><em>Slate</em></strong> columnist and former New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer <a href="http://www.newsweek.com/id/190345">says</a> we should accept basic market realities and restore &quot;logic, not anger&quot; to the debate in Washington. <strong>…</strong> An <a href="http://www.newsweek.com/id/190375">article</a> profiles Zambian economist Dambisa Moyo, who argues that Western aid to Africa keeps the continent poor and oppressed. She urges celebrities to give up photo-op advocacy and focus on more constructive ways to help.</p>
<p><strong><em> New York</em></strong><strong>, March 30<br /></strong> The <a href="http://nymag.com/news/politics/55511">cover story</a> scans President Obama's economic brain and reports that &quot;it's not pretty at this moment.&quot; Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner botched his first presentation, &quot;speaking slowly, swaying side to side,&quot; and the rest of the economic team mistakenly believes businesses are excited about their &quot;turning the country into a socialist state.&quot; They also appear to be capitalizing on the crisis instead of solving it, using their array of rescue plans to advance Obama's policy agenda, when this &quot;should be an all-hands-on-deck moment.&quot;<strong>…</strong> An <a href="http://nymag.com/news/features/55500/">article</a> profiles Cara Muhlhahn, a New York midwife and home-birth activist who believes childbirth should be &quot;more poetic than clinical.&quot; She operates without required licenses and avoids partnerships with hospitals to escape their restrictions. &quot;I don't enjoy being an outlaw,&quot; she says, but she insists no one else respects the body's natural processes enough. Most of her happy customers agree.</p>
<p><strong><em> The New Yorker,</em></strong> March 30 An <a href="http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2009/03/30/090330fa_fact_gawande">article</a> explores the torturous effects of solitary confinement—a slow psychological deterioration that happens to prisoners of war and common American criminals alike. The widespread use of isolation in U.S. prisons is a phenomenon of the past 20 years. &quot;Supermax&quot; prisons, designed for mass solitary confinement, now contain at least 25,000 inmates. Advocates say solitary confinement is the only way to contain violent prisoners, but studies show no drop in violence when the worst offenders are isolated. <strong>…</strong> An <a href="http://www.newyorker.com/talk/comment/2009/03/30/090330taco_talk_owen">article</a> examines the &quot;environmental benefits of an economic decline&quot; and wonders how to reignite the economy without burning up the time the recession has &quot;put back on the carbon clock.&quot; Once the economy is &quot;no longer teetering,&quot; our environmental success will come from policies that seem to take us back to our leaner times. <strong>…</strong> In a <a href="http://www.newyorker.com/humor/2009/03/30/090330sh_shouts_allen">piece of fiction</a>, Woody Allen imagines a Bernie Madoff seafood dinner through the eyes of two lobsters.</p>
<p><strong><em> Weekly Standard</em></strong>, March 30 The <a href="http://weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/016/306lqpuf.asp">cover story</a> predicts that the financial crisis could destroy the EU, the union's &quot;soft authoritarianism&quot; having &quot;left it peculiarly ill suited to weather the storm.&quot; EU voter turnout is low and displeasure is high, meaning any direction it takes will push its alienated electorate toward extremist politics on either side. Populist movements are gaining ground across Europe, and as the EU's members hang together against their own interest, the &quot;wild men of the fringes&quot; will see their numbers swell. It seems &quot;disturbingly likely&quot; that the union will realize, &quot;too late, that there was something to be said for democracy after all.&quot;<strong>…</strong> An <a href="http://weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/016/307srchm.asp">article</a> sees in this year's New Jersey gubernatorial race the beginnings of a GOP comeback. Democrat incumbent John Corzine trails both likely Republican challengers, including Chris Christie, the state's former U.S. attorney. Christie is winning statewide appeal with his engaging style and message of reform.</p>
<p><strong><em> Rolling Stone</em></strong>, April 2 The cover story follows the cast of <em>Gossip Girl </em> around New York, where they live in a bubble of glamour that sometimes resembles the lives of their privileged Upper East Side characters. The young stars take the opportunity to reiterate that the rumors brought up &quot;in every interview&quot;—that the girls hate one another, that the boys are gay—have no more weight than the hearsay on the show's titular gossip blog. The story wonders if the fabulous five might be the last few living the high life in Manhattan. <strong>…</strong> Matt Taibbi <a href="http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/story/26793903/the_big_takeover/1">reviews</a> the financial crisis and rails against megabanks for creating an &quot;idiotic language&quot; too convoluted for regulators to understand. The people trying to fix the mess are graduates of that same class, making the entire crisis a charade of ass-covering that the American people should be way angrier about than they are.</p>Tue, 24 Mar 2009 20:32:00 GMThttp://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/other_magazines/2009/03/rage_against_the_machine.htmlDavid Sessions2009-03-24T20:32:00ZThe glossies tackle populist anger.News and PoliticsWhat's new in The New Yorker, Newsweek, and Rolling Stone.2214575David SessionsOther Magazineshttp://www.slate.com/id/2214575falsefalsefalseObama Hurries Toward&nbsp;Solutionshttp://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/todays_papers/2009/03/obama_hurries_towardsolutions.html
<p>Today's front pages herald the Obama administration's sweeping new measures to contain the financial crisis. The <em> <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/print/">Washington Post</a></em>leads with the Treasury Department's formation of <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/21/AR2009032102246.html">a government body</a> called the &quot;Public Investment Corp.&quot; that will purchase approximately $1 trillion in so-called toxic assets. The <em> <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/pages/todayspaper/index.html">New York Times</a></em>leads with a <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/22/us/politics/22regulate.html?ref=todayspaper">call for increased oversight</a> likely to come this week as part of a &quot;sweeping plan to overhaul financial regulation.&quot; That plan will seek a broad new role for the Federal Reserve in overseeing large companies. The <em> <a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/front/">Los Angeles Times</a></em>leads with &quot;one of the deadliest police shootings in California history,&quot; a routine traffic stop that eventually led to <a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-oakland-police-shooting22-2009mar22,0,7435617.story">three officers being shot</a> and killed yesterday in Oakland, Calif. The suspect, previously convicted for assault with a deadly weapon, was gunned down by SWAT officers two hours after the initial shootings.</p>
<p>The Treasury is pressing ahead with plans to buy up the $1 trillion worth of toxic assets still burdening the economy, the <em>WP </em>reports, though details of the new corporation that will do the purchasing are not finalized. The body will include private investors and the Federal Reserve, but the government will be sticking its neck out farthest, committing $75 billion to $100 billion from the original $700 billion rescue package. The administration says its goal is to &quot;pursue compensation reform that addresses public outrage while maintaining stability in the financial system.&quot; </p>
<p>Prodded by this week's wave of outrage over bonuses paid to AIG executives, the Obama administration is also hurrying along its long-discussed plans to increase oversight of executive pay. Details are still under debate, the <em>NYT </em>reports, but the planned regulation might be presented in place of further legislation and will apply even to companies currently not receiving federal bailout money. The administration hopes to have the plan written up before an April G20 meeting, where improving corporate oversight is expected to be a hot topic.</p>
<p>Officials say the CIA's most expensive targeted killing program since Vietnam has been a success, according to a <a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-pakistan-predator22-2009mar22,0,2028263.story">front-page <em>LAT </em>story</a>. Predator missile strikes in Pakistan, dramatically increased since August of last year, have &quot;taken such a toll on Al Qaeda that militants have begun turning violently on one another out of confusion and distrust.&quot; The Bush administration decided in August 2008 to stop asking the Pakistani government for permission before launching missile strikes, leading to a nearly 400 percent increase in strikes from the previous two years combined. The Obama administration plans to continue the intensified offensive despite civilian casualities and protests from the Pakistani government. </p>
<p>Closer to home, the Obama administration is dispatching federal agents and equipment to the&nbsp;U.S.-Mexico border, the <em>WP </em>off-lead <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/21/AR2009032102249.html">reports</a>.&nbsp;The materials will assist Mexican president Felipe Calder&oacute;n in his war&nbsp;against the vicious drug cartels benefiting from a steady stream of weapons and cash flowing across the border&nbsp;from the United States. License-plate readers, scales to weigh vehicles, and surveillance equipment will be headed to the border, and government officials are discussing ways to increase intelligence-sharing and military cooperation with Mexico.</p>
<p>The <em>LAT </em> <a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-quintana22-2009mar22,0,5442935.story?page=1">fronts</a> a less bloody war between self-promoting Hollywood events planner Brian Quintana and his celebrity patrons, many of whom he accuses of shocking—sometimes criminal—behavior. &quot;If he is to be believed, actress Stefanie Powers sexually assaulted him, socialite Paris Hilton tried to wreck him professionally and movie producer Jon Peters solicited him to commit murder.&quot; Quintana, who claims connections to dozens of A-list celebrities, has been in and out of court with almost as many. The stars all scornfully dismiss him as another one of the parasitic Hollywood opportunists who make their lives miserable.</p>
<p><em>Sideways</em>, a 2004 movie about two buddies on a wine-tasting road trip through California, will be <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/22/movies/22karp.html?ref=todayspaper">uncorked in Japan</a>, the <em>NYT </em>reports. It's<em></em>the latest in a series of films being remade by American production companies eager to expand their reach into foreign markets. <em>Sideways </em>is an unlikely choice for a Japanese audience, but producers are rerouting the road trip to more recognizable California locations and plugging local wines with up-close shots of signs and labels. Alexander Payne, who directed the Oscar-nominated original, has given the new version his blessing.</p>
<p>A <em>NYT</em> <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/22/weekinreview/22stolberg.html?ref=todayspaper">essay</a> attempts to unpack &quot;political distractions,&quot; those bits of news, &quot;seemingly side issues,&quot; that whip up national anger in matter of hours. The AIG bonuses are &quot;small change&quot; compared with hundreds of billions of dollars already spent on misbehaving financial institutions, but the outrage that exploded virtually overnight could end up derailing parts of Obama's agenda. Political distractions are often manufactured by the opposition, but &quot;the ones that pose the greatest political danger are those that seem to erupt spontaneously, crossing political boundaries by putting a president at odds with his own party.&quot;</p>
<p>An <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/20/AR2009032001779.html">essay</a> in the <em>WP </em>warns against the European social model, which the author says removes the human spirit from the stuff of life. Jobs are protected, wealth distributed, and recreation assured, but &quot;human beings are a collection of chemicals that activate and, after a period of time, deactivate. The purpose of life is to while away the intervening time as pleasantly as possible.&quot; Social policy based on that premise makes for an environment &quot;inimical to human flourishing.&quot;</p>Sun, 22 Mar 2009 09:02:00 GMThttp://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/todays_papers/2009/03/obama_hurries_towardsolutions.htmlDavid Sessions2009-03-22T09:02:00ZNews and PoliticsThe papers on the administration's latest economic plans.2214403David SessionsToday's Papershttp://www.slate.com/id/2214403falsefalsefalseBankers' Nationalization Worries Drive Market Plungehttp://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/todays_papers/2009/02/bankers_nationalization_worries_drive_market_plunge.html
<p>The <em>Wall Street Journal </em>leads with, and the <em>New York Times </em>and <em>Washington Post </em>front, bankers' <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123515866806935383.html?mod=testMod">worries about nationalization</a>. The Obama administration suggested yesterday that it would not try to nationalize banks, but the markets, led by Citigroup and Bank of America, plunged anyway. The <em> <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/pages/todayspaper/index.html">New York Times</a></em> leads with President Obama's expansion of <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/21/washington/21policy.html?ref=todayspaper">stealth missile attacks</a> on militants inside Pakistan. Two strikes this week came as a sign that Obama is continuing the Bush administration's policy of using American spy agencies against terrorist suspects in Pakistan. The <em> <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/print/">Washington Post</a></em> leads with, and the <em>WSJ </em>newsbox mentions, Obama's <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/02/20/AR2009022003748.html">stern warnings</a> to mayors: He'll call them out if they misuse their bailout money. The president's &quot;salvo&quot; was the first step in a campaign to assure the nation that the $787 billion will not go to waste. The <em> <a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/front/">Los Angeles Times</a></em> leads with the <a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/front/la-me-arnold-taxes21-2009feb21,0,6557203.story">deepening rift</a> between California Republicans and Arnold Schwarzenegger after the governor reversed himself and signed $12.5 billion in tax hikes into law on Friday. </p>
<p>The <em>WSJ</em> highlights the Obama administration's attempts to <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123515866806935383.html?mod=testMod">allay fears of bank nationalization</a>: On Friday, press secretary Robert Gibbs said that the president &quot;continues to strongly believe that a privately held banking system is the correct way to go.&quot; That assurance didn't stop the Dow from closing with its lowest drop in four months, which the <em>NYT</em> sees as a <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/21/business/economy/21bank.html?ref=todayspaper">loss of investor confidence</a>. (Shares of the largest banking companies saw particularly deep plunges yesterday; the <em>WP</em>'s front-page story dubs&nbsp;the occurrence a &quot;<a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/02/20/AR2009022003831.html">fire sale</a>.&quot;) The administration's lack of a detailed plan is &quot;sowing confusion&quot; in the markets about the banks' futures, the <em>Times </em>explains, and leading Wall Street to worry that Washington is &quot;running out of time and options.&quot; A <em>WSJ </em> <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123517380343437079.html?mod=todays_us_opinion">op-ed</a> profiles Nouriel Roubini, a New York University professor who says that nationalization and resale is a &quot;market-friendly&quot; solution that should appeal to fiscal conservatives. </p>
<p>It is unclear why the Obama administration decided to carry out two attacks on Pakistani militants this past week, including one last Saturday and another on Monday, the <em>NYT </em>reports. Both strikes targeted camps run by Baitullah Mehsud, the man who orchestrated Benazir Bhutto's assassination last year and whose name appears on a classified list of militants the CIA is currently authorized to capture or kill. The strikes, which did not kill Mehsud, may have been prompted by U.S. concern that his attacks are weakening Pakistan's civilian government. </p>
<p>President Obama had &quot;sharp language&quot; for a group of 80 mayors who met in Washington on Friday; the <em>WP </em>calls it &quot;an effort to respond to Republican critics who contend that there are too few controls&quot; on the largest federal spending project in U.S. history. The president informed the mayors that his team will track how the money is spent based on guidelines in a report from his budget director. New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin seemed the most eager to get hands on the money, saying he told&nbsp;Republican&nbsp;Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal that his city would be happy to take every dollar the state doesn't want.</p>
<p>Signing California's budget rescue plan yesterday, which includes sweeping spending cuts and tax hikes, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger &quot;broke one of the few bonds left between his shrunken party and California's mainstream voters,&quot; the <em>LAT</em> reports. It also &quot;enraged&quot; the fiscal conservatives in the state's Republican Party. Even if California had laid off its entire state work force, it would have fallen &quot;billions shy&quot; of balancing the budget. That reality didn't keep the two top GOP gubernatorial contenders from lashing out at the governor's tax increases: One said it would &quot;kill jobs [and] hurt families&quot;; another called it a &quot;fiasco.&quot;</p>
<p>Saturday style reports wrap up New York's fall fashion week, focusing on the conflicted mood that beset the couture crowd as&nbsp;it exhibited&nbsp;its expensive wares in troubled times. The <em>NYT</em> <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/21/nyregion/21metjournal.html?ref=todayspaper">feels</a> a &quot;palpable grimness&quot; in the tents at Bryant Park this season, and the <em>WP </em> <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/02/20/AR2009022003773.html">notices</a> that<em></em>&quot;no small number of well-dressed folks who six months ago indulged in existential angst over a pair of shoes, now respond with a simple word: employed.&quot; The <em>Times </em>story follows a Wall Street fund manager around the Nanette Lepore show, noticing that he couldn't stop checking his Blackberry and &quot;groaning&quot; at the sea of red stock symbols flooding in.</p>
<p>The <em>NYT </em>reports the <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/21/nyregion/21nyu.html?ref=todayspaper">cessation of hostilities</a> at New York University, where students protested for 40 hours in a barricaded dining room and in Washington Square Park over &quot;financial and academic issues.&quot;&nbsp;Eighteen students were suspended for &quot;violating university rules&quot;; their fates now await a disciplinary review.</p>
<p>The <em>WSJ</em> <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123517693330337663.html?mod=todays_us_page_one">reports</a> a peculiar trend from Japan: President Obama's speeches &quot;have become the latest fad fueling this nation's long, and oft-frustrated, passion for mastering English.&quot; One English teacher in Tokyo draws 200 students a week to &quot;Obama workshops&quot; in which students &quot;recite Mr. Obama's speeches line by line, using a special check sheet to record progress.&quot;</p>Sat, 21 Feb 2009 09:42:00 GMThttp://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/todays_papers/2009/02/bankers_nationalization_worries_drive_market_plunge.htmlDavid Sessions2009-02-21T09:42:00ZNews and PoliticsThe papers on bankers' worries about nationalization.2211823David SessionsToday's Papershttp://www.slate.com/id/2211823falsefalsefalseThe Next Financial Hotspotshttp://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/other_magazines/2009/02/the_next_financial_hotspots.html
<p><strong><em> Atlantic</em></strong><strong>, March 2009<br /></strong>The <a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200903/meltdown-geography">cover story</a> predicts the long-term results of the financial crisis and foresees a new geography for the U.S. economy. New York is &quot;much, much more than a financial center,&quot; and its critical mass of creative talent will ensure its enduring vitality. The crisis will hit hardest in places furthest removed from high finance—areas of the country that depend on manufacturing and real estate speculation. Detroit may &quot;become a ghost town.&quot; The cities with the best creative ecosystems will prosper, as the new economy will be about &quot;generating and transporting ideas.&quot; <strong>…</strong> An <a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200903/guitar-hero">article</a> wonders whether Guitar Hero might be able to save the <em>real </em>rock 'n' roll. Simulation is a &quot;sacrament&quot; of rock, and it will be around &quot;as long as the adolescent mind dreams and sweats.&quot; The game also reminds players of &quot;classics&quot;: A 1994 Weezer song sold at 10 times its usual rate after appearing on Guitar Hero III. </p>
<p><strong><em> Time</em></strong>, Feb. 23 An <a href="http://www.time.com/time/politics/article/0,8599,1878942,00.html">article</a> reveals how ardently the Obama administration has been courting Republican Sens. Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe of Maine. Vice President Joe Biden called Snowe in December to leave a home telephone number, and both she and Collins have met with President Obama in the Oval Office. The pair, known for their independence, has become even more powerful now as they make up two of the three Senate swing votes. They praise bipartisanship: Collins says, &quot;[T]he American people want us to solve problems and stop fighting.&quot; <strong>…</strong> An <a href="http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1879194,00.html">article</a> heralds Grand Theft Auto:<em></em>&quot;[W]ith each installment, [the games display] more and more radical and sophisticated experiments in storytelling.&quot; The most recent release made $500 million its first week on shelves, the largest opening of any entertainment franchise in history. To maintain the complex story, &quot;a sustained fictional inquiry into the myth of the great American badass,&quot; creators use elaborate diagrams of the characters and plotlines.</p>
<p><strong><em> Economist</em></strong>, Feb. 14 The <a href="http://www.economist.com/printedition/displayStory.cfm?Story_ID=13108724">cover story</a> calls Obama's management of the stimulus a &quot;wasted opportunity,&quot; objecting to the president handing over negotiations to &quot;fractious congressional Democrats&quot; who let a bitter partisan fight develop. The piece also complains that the House &quot;larded&quot; the bill with pet projects that are unlikely to provide an urgent stimulus effect. But Tim Geithner's financial rescue plan was even more unfortunate, as it &quot;looked depressingly like his predecessors' efforts: timid, incomplete and short on detail.&quot; <strong>…</strong> An <a href="http://www.economist.com/opinion/displaystory.cfm?story_id=13109596">article</a> finds the e-book market &quot;hotting up&quot; with Amazon's new Kindle and Google's plan to release 1.5 million books in smartphone-friendly formats. But Apple is in the best position to capitalize: The iPhone is already the most used e-book reader, and adding books and newspapers to iTunes would be simple, perhaps allowing Apple to expand its domination while giving hope to print publications.</p>
<p><strong><em> Esquire</em></strong>, March 2009 A <a href="http://www.esquire.com/features/shepard-smith-fox-news-0309">profile</a> follows the rise of Fox News anchor Shephard Smith, who both embodies the &quot;underdog&quot; spirit of the network and stands apart from its partisan reputation. According to Fox creation myths, he's the one whom the network brass supposedly saw as their future ticket to world domination. Over the past year, Smith has &quot;distinguished himself by treating Republicans as aggressively as Fox News normally treats Democrats—by seeming fed up with Republicans, and maybe with the strictures of Fox News itself.&quot; His &quot;balance&quot; has led the media world to wonder about his ambitions, but he's as much a warrior for Fox News as ever. <strong>… </strong>An <a href="http://www.esquire.com/features/what-ive-learned/sarah-palin-interview-0309?click=main_sr">interview</a> with Sarah Palin is heavy on colorful personal details. She likes white-chocolate mochas and mooseburgers, is a lifelong fan of <em>SNL</em>, and thinks she's not &quot;hot&quot; &quot;without a trough full of makeup on.&quot; She also—as we all well know—hates &quot;bored, anonymous, pathetic bloggers who lie.&quot;</p>
<p><strong><em> New York Times Magazine</em></strong>, Feb. 15 The cover story investigates the &quot;mystery&quot; of Houston Rockets guard Shane Battier, the &quot;no stats all-star.&quot; Battier is widely regarded as an average athlete, but he routinely shuts down the NBA's most dangerous offensive players. He's part of Houston's new way of looking at basketball statistics, a perspective that challenges the box-score-driven perceptions that have &quot;warped&quot; the game. Simple, obscure stats—like the &quot;plus-minus,&quot; which looks at what happens to the score when a certain player is on the court—take the focus off of individual numbers and put it back on invisible ways to play as a team. <strong>…</strong> Virginia Heffernan gets philosophical about Facebook statuses, the perfect place for &quot;spontaneous bursts of being.&quot; She can't find a satisfying grand theory of updates, but her friends have good advice: ''You take a tiny story, which seemingly concerns only you and in which you play the role of hapless, bumbling protagonist.&quot;</p>
<p><strong>Must Read</strong><br />The <em>Atlantic</em>'s predictive <a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200903/meltdown-geography">cover story</a> on America's future economic geography is an engaging thought experiment.</p>
<p><strong>Must Skip</strong><br />An <a href="http://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/musical/2009/02/09/090209crmu_music_frerejones?currentPage=1">analysis of Beyonc&eacute;</a> in <em>The</em><em>New Yorker </em>mostly re-reviews her latest album and doesn't add anything particularly compelling.</p>
<p><strong>Best Politics Piece</strong><br />The <em>Economist</em> <a href="http://www.economist.com/printedition/displayStory.cfm?Story_ID=13108724">summarizes</a> the stimulus debate with characteristic wit and realism.</p>
<p><strong>Best Culture Piece</strong><br />A <em>Newsweek </em>article<em></em> <a href="http://www.newsweek.com/id/183718">explains</a> why Americans don't hate the wealthy with the vitriol that many Europeans hurl at respective upper classes.</p>
<p><strong>Most Unexpectedly Intriguing List</strong><em><br />Foreign Policy</em>'s lengthy <a href="http://www.foreignpolicy.com/story/cms.php?story_id=4598">roster</a> of the most powerful think tanks—both domestic and international—is surprisingly interesting and educational.</p>Fri, 13 Feb 2009 21:12:00 GMThttp://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/other_magazines/2009/02/the_next_financial_hotspots.htmlDavid Sessions2009-02-13T21:12:00ZThe Atlantic on how the financial storm will change the geography of America's economy.News and PoliticsWhat's new in Time, Esquire, the Atlantic, and the Economist.2211251David SessionsOther Magazineshttp://www.slate.com/id/2211251falsefalsefalseAre WeSocialist?http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/other_magazines/2009/02/are_wesocialist.html
<p><strong><em> Newsweek,</em></strong> Feb. 16 The <a href="http://www.newsweek.com/id/183663">cover story</a> argues that America has become more socialist than we'd like to admit, and, irony of ironies, much of it happened under a Republican president. We're still a &quot;center-right&quot; nation that distrusts big government, the authors write, but we're also attached to the perks that come with it. The U.S. government spends only 8 percentage points less of its country's annual GDP than its peers in the euro zone—we spent 39.9 percent; they spent 47.1 percent—and, over the next few years, &quot;we will become even more French.&quot;<strong>…</strong> An <a href="http://www.newsweek.com/id/183718">article</a> explains why Americans don't hate the rich but prefer to laugh at them instead. While ire at the wealthy has surfaced during times of economic distress, &quot;what Americans lack is what the European working classes gleefully exhibit: resentment of the rich personally.&quot; That might be because the United States began without an aristocracy, and obtaining wealth has been traditionally seen as a positive measure of an individual's personal qualities.</p>
<p><strong><em> Weekly Standard,</em></strong> Feb. 16 An <a href="http://weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/016/125yutlj.asp">article</a> observes that &quot;the state has never been more in vogue.&quot; The stimulus bill, the author writes, is only a &quot;down payment&quot;on social programs, with much more spending to come. Government clearly has a role in solving problems, but the current one is too caught up in its own groupthink to foresee the swift retribution when its grand ideas fail: &quot;Democrats are marching lockstep down a road that has been trod before, with nary a thought of the consequences.&quot;<strong>…</strong> An <a href="http://weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/016/133strkj.asp">article</a> reports on the post-election mood on the streets of Baghdad. The &quot;drama-free&quot; vote was a great success for Iraq and a relief for the United States, but making sense of it isn't easy. Encouragingly, the Iraqis the author interviewed &quot;clearly saw themselves—and this is a first in Iraqi history—as the people's guardians.&quot;</p>
<p><strong><em> New York</em></strong><strong>, Feb. 16<br /></strong> The <a href="http://nymag.com/arts/tv/profiles/54074">cover story</a> follows geek-comedian Demetri Martin as he finishes up the first episodes for his upcoming Comedy Central show <em>Important Things With Demetri Martin. </em> A law school dropout turned comic, Martin creates his one-man performances from a whimsical mix of one-liners (&quot;Drummers are cool. Until you put them in a circle&quot;), drawings, simple songs, and displays of ambidexterity. He's written two commissioned sitcoms that went unproduced, but his new show attempts to re-create his cultishly popular &quot;handmade&quot; stage aesthetic. <strong>…</strong> An <a href="http://nymag.com/news/media/54069">article</a> finds a young survivor of the dot-com bubble visiting Twitter headquarters in San Francisco and declaring that the company's founders might be living in the last tech &quot;dream world&quot; on the planet. As an economic storm rages around them, the &quot;Twitter boys&quot; are taking their time, insisting that Twitter is &quot;the triumph of the human spirit&quot; and that, when the time is right, &quot;the money will come.&quot;</p>
<p><strong><em> The New Yorker,</em></strong> Feb. 9 and 16 An <a href="http://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/musical/2009/02/09/090209crmu_music_frerejones?currentPage=1">article</a> examines Beyonc&eacute;'s &quot;fierceness,&quot; observing that her brilliant, strange musical career has been executed without &quot;cursing, committing infidelity, or breaking any laws, even in character.&quot; The fierceness already in her repertoire, particularly in her sassy performances with Destiny's Child, makes her experiments with a fictional alter ego, &quot;Sasha Fierce,&quot; peculiar. But as she proved singing in Etta James during the Obamas' first dance, she's &quot;really good at being good,&quot; and that's all anyone notices. <strong>…</strong> An <a href="http://www.newyorker.com/talk/financial/2009/02/09/090209ta_talk_surowiecki">article</a> downplays the importance of moral hazard, the idea that people act more rashly when insulated from the consequences. It seems like common sense, but policy driven by moral hazard—letting Lehman Bros. fail, for example—sometimes produces unforeseen problems. And there are many situations in which the &quot;insulation&quot;<em>doesn't </em> affect behavior, like a messy bailout that investors and regulators alike would rather not go through. <strong>…</strong> An <a href="http://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/cinema/2009/02/09/090209crci_cinema_denby">article</a> slams this year's Oscar nominees, which beat out &quot;more deserving movies.&quot;</p>
<p><strong><em> Foreign Policy</em></strong>, January/February 2009 An <a href="http://www.foreignpolicy.com/story/cms.php?story_id=4588">article</a> by Condoleezza Rice's former speechwriter describes Bush's second-term foreign policy as &quot;pragmatic internationalism based on enduring national interests and ideals for a country whose global leadership is still indispensable.&quot; Obama ran against a &quot;caricature of Bush's first term,&quot; but his foreign policy is more likely to mirror what happened in the second. &quot;Obama will inherit a Middle East peace process finally proceeding on both tracks at once&quot;—state-building and peacemaking—and probably won't find a good reason to change course much. <strong>…</strong> An <a href="http://www.foreignpolicy.com/story/cms.php?story_id=4585&amp;page=0">article</a> argues that climate change is happening more quickly than even scientists admit, and that we have missed our chance to &quot;solve&quot; the crisis. Projections have human activity raising the global temperature by 5 degrees Fahrenheit in the next century, and 1 degree of increase has already wreaked havoc. <strong>…</strong> An exhaustive <a href="http://www.foreignpolicy.com/story/cms.php?story_id=4598">list</a> ranks the best national and international think tanks.</p>Tue, 10 Feb 2009 22:42:00 GMThttp://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/other_magazines/2009/02/are_wesocialist.htmlDavid Sessions2009-02-10T22:42:00ZNewsweek and the Weekly Standard on big government.News and PoliticsWhat's new in New York, the New Yorker, and Foreign Policy.2211015David SessionsOther Magazineshttp://www.slate.com/id/2211015falsefalsefalseIsrael: Help Us Bomb Iranhttp://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/todays_papers/2009/01/israel_help_us_bomb_iran.html
<p>The <em>New York Times</em> leads with news that President Bush rebuffed <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/11/washington/11iran.html?ref=todayspaper">a secret request by Israel</a> last year for &quot;bunker-busting&quot; bombs, with which it planned to attack Iran's nuclear complex. The Bush administration had approved covert operations against Iran but feared more direct attacks would be counterproductive. The <em>Los Angeles Times </em>digs into the history of Keynesian economics, which popularized the idea of deficit spending to restore confidence in ailing economies. Obama's proposed stimulus plan would be the <a href="http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-econ11-2009jan11,0,2730452.story">largest Keynesian experiment</a> a developed nation has ever tried in peacetime. The <em>Washington Post</em> leads with <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/10/AR2009011001999.html">Obama's response</a> to congressional discontent with the plan, including contentions by the Senate Democrats he'd hoped wouldn't make a fuss. The president-elect emphasized the number of permanent jobs his package would spawn, most of which would be in the private sector. </p>
<p>Based on a 15-month span of interviews with administration officials and other experts, the <em>NYT </em> <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/11/washington/11iran.html?ref=todayspaper">develops</a> an inside portrait of a Bush administration prodded by Israel but hesitant to take dramatic action in Iran. The president was briefed extensively on a covert attack plan but was convinced&nbsp;by Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates that it would &quot;probably prove ineffective, lead to the expulsion of international inspectors and drive Iran's nuclear effort further out of view.&quot; Israel's request in early 2008 for bombs and for permission to fly over Iraq grew out of a dispute over a controversial National Intelligence Estimate that suggested Iran had suspended its nuclear program—a conclusion that angered Israel and left both Bush and Gates &quot;stunned&quot; and &quot;suspicious.&quot; When Israel asked for permission to take matters into its own hands, Bush still said, &quot;Hell, no,&quot; and Israel apparently&nbsp;decided its plans wouldn't be effective without American assistance.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, Iran has been doing a little <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/10/AR2009011002236.html">scheming of its own</a>, a below-the-fold story in the <em>WP </em>adds. Tehran uses front businesses—including many in based in Dubai—to obtain American electronics parts that would become weapons used against U.S. soldiers in Iraq. Despite intense government efforts to prevent the flow of electronics parts to Iran, illegal trafficking has become &quot;nearly all Internet-based and increasingly sophisticated.&quot;</p>
<p>In a report released after yesterday's radio address, Obama's top economic advisers gloomily predicted no change in the unemployment rate by the end of 2010, the <em>WP </em>reports, and suggested the rate would rise as high as 9 percent without passage of the stimulus. But some Democrats don't like the plan's inclusion of a $3,000 tax credit for each job a corporation creates or saves, and Republicans don't like the hulking size of the whole thing. Republicans <em>do</em> like the tax credit part, however, which means getting bipartisan support could be tougher than Obama hoped. </p>
<p>But caution might be warranted: The Obama plan is the biggest gamble on an economic measure the country has taken since World War II, the <em>LAT</em>'s lead essay on the <a href="http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-econ11-2009jan11,0,2730452.story">return of Keynesian economics</a> observes. Even FDR's Depression-era deficit spending wasn't nearly as &quot;audacious&quot; as the Obama proposal. It's a &quot;testament to the frightening dimensions of the global economic plunge&quot; that Obama's package has garnered so much favor with economists, and the experiment seems to have more to do with today's drama than analysis of the Keynesianism's past.</p>
<p>The <em>LAT </em>also fronts a <a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/front/la-fg-afghan-taliban11-2009jan11,0,6570931,full.story">story</a> by reporter Paul Watson, who went into Afghanistan &quot;embedded&quot; with Taliban fighters in Ghazni. The &quot;Talibs&quot; watch coverage of the Gaza conflict on Al Jazeera television, often remarking that the images increase their resolve to fight the United States and its allies. (They see the United States as another arm of the Israeli agenda.) The fighters are quite hospitable but make no secret of their hatred of America: &quot;We will continue our jihad. The more soldiers they send, the happier we become.&quot;</p>
<p>A front-page <em>NYT</em> story chronicles the <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/11/us/politics/11gop.html?ref=todayspaper">woes of the Republican Party</a> and the latest option the GOP—apparently not convinced that &quot;<a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/05/AR2009010502771_2.html">the Twittering</a>&quot; is the answer—is considering to get back on its feet: electing its first black chairman. The party faces difficulties raising funds and finding well-known candidates with the rhetorical skills to challenge the Democrats, and a shot of diversity might help Republicans &quot;avoid shrinking into a party of Southern white men in an increasingly diverse country.&quot;</p>
<p>A <em>WP</em> <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/08/AR2009010802653.html">review</a> takes up Barry Werth's <em>Banquet at Delmonico's</em>, a history of social Darwinism figureheads like Herbert Spencer, the British philosopher who &quot;gave America the implicit assurance that it was the endpoint of human evolution.&quot; The book's argument for evolution's triumph in America is suspect given the prevalence of creation-story belief, and it is not always well explained: &quot;If ever a book cried out for perspective and interpretation and even a dash or two of editorializing, it's this one.&quot;</p>
<p>Randy and Paula are moving their chairs over to <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/11/arts/television/11cara.html?ref=todayspaper">make room for Kara DioGuardi</a>, the &quot;feisty, heartfelt and outspoken&quot; addition to <em>American Idol</em>'s judging panel, the <em>NYT </em>reports. DioGuardi, who has written songs for Celine Dion, Kelly Clarkson, and Pink, will be the first major change-up on <em>Idol </em>since it began in 2002—and perhaps the first major challenge to the &nbsp;&quot;perverse antagonism&quot; from Simon's end of the table. &quot;If he doesn't let me speak, it's going to be a problem,&quot; she warns.</p>Sun, 11 Jan 2009 11:14:00 GMThttp://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/todays_papers/2009/01/israel_help_us_bomb_iran.htmlDavid Sessions2009-01-11T11:14:00ZNews and PoliticsA secret&nbsp;request from Israel, plus&nbsp;picking apart Obama's stimulus proposal.2208415David SessionsToday's Papershttp://www.slate.com/id/2208415falsefalsefalseIt's All&nbsp;in the Workshttp://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/todays_papers/2008/12/its_allin_the_works.html
<p>The <em> <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/print/?nav=globetop">Washington Post</a></em> leads with the first look into Barack Obama's &quot;<a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/06/AR2008120602187.html">massive public works program</a>,&quot; the most expansive and ambitious since Dwight Eisenhower instigated the federal interstate highway project in the 1950s. The plan will attempt to pump money into highway renovation, school repairs, and expansion of broadband Internet coverage. The <em> <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/pages/todayspaper/index.html">New York Times</a></em>leads with additional <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/07/world/asia/07troops.html?ref=todayspaper">U.S. troops moving to Kabul</a>, a move that signals the increasing delicacy of the situation near Afghanistan's capital. It also &quot;underscores&quot; the hard choices, regarding how to best&nbsp;divide troops between Iraq and Afghanistan, that&nbsp;U.S. military officials face. The <em> <a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/front/">Los Angeles Times</a></em>leads with its occasional series on Mexican drug trafficking. Today's installment tells the story of four people gunned down in a jewelry store near Monterrey, where <a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/front/la-fg-monterrey7-2008dec07,0,4380863,full.story">the drug war has infiltrated</a> what was previously one of Mexico's safest large cities.</p>
<p>In an address delivered on radio and <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iGpIT2bVZDw">YouTube</a> yesterday, Barack Obama divulged a few more details about the massive public works program <a href="http://www.slate.com/id/2205301/">he promised a few weeks ago</a>. The president-elect responded to November's depressing unemployment numbers (we shed more jobs in the past month than we have since 1974) by reiterating the need to create 2.5 million new jobs, most of them to replace the 2 million we've lost <a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/washingtondc/la-na-obama-address7-2008dec07,0,7004378.story">since the recession began last year</a>. Obama said explicitly that his plan would be massive and far-reaching, though the ultimate price tag remains among the classified details. The <em>NYT </em> <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/07/us/politics/07radio.html?pagewanted=1&amp;ref=todayspaper">calls it</a> &quot;government-directed industrial policy,&quot; which means the administration will pick among competing private contractors on which to &quot;rain money.&quot; </p>
<p>Any talk of raining money is sure to make conservative economists unhappy—the <em>NYT </em>is the only paper with that angle—but the governors love it! <a>Several </a> state governors highlighted road and school programs just waiting for an injection of federal cash, projects that add up to an estimated $136 billion. <a href="http://www.slate.com#Correction1">*</a> Obama gave them no promises, which <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/06/AR2008120602187_pf.html">the <em>WP </em>says is</a> &quot;in keeping with the secrecy that surrounds the development of his recovery plan.&quot; </p>
<p>Congress worked through the weekend to hammer out a bailout proposal for the &quot;big three&quot; U.S. automakers, and it's looking as if General Motors might have the most convincing case for a federal lifeline: the fact that nearly three-fourths of its employees <a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/front/la-fi-gmworld7-2008dec07,0,5602941.story">work outside the United States</a>. A GM failure at home could have global implications, meaning it would be best for us and the rest of the world if the company stays afloat. (<a>Re</a> publicans <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/07/washington/07autos.html?ref=todayspaper">still aren't convinced</a>, arguing that the automakers must be forced to cut labor costs and reduce debt. <a href="http://www.slate.com#Correction1">*</a> The <em>WP </em>editorial page <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/06/AR2008120601857.html">agrees</a>.) But some people are in deep trouble whether it survives or not, particularly those who run certainly doomed vehicle dealerships. GM wants to <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/06/AR2008120602273.html">shed increasingly unpopular lines</a> like Hummer, a family of vehicles that have become a national symbol of gas-guzzling inefficiency, which would leave tons of dealership owners stranded. (Though it may be necessary, it would also be extremely costly because of &quot;stringent franchise laws across the country.&quot;) </p>
<p>Political stability in Iraq may have come at the cost of increased <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/06/AR2008120602289.html">tribal suppression of women</a>, a front-page <em>WP </em>story postulates. Many of the religious leaders the U.S. supported for the sake of stability have rejected Saddam's secularism, &quot;imposed strict interpretations of Islam and enforced tribal codes that female activists say limit their freedom and encourage violence against them.&quot; Thirty percent more women were killed in the first six months of 2008 than the previous six months, most of them &quot;honor crimes&quot; involving fundamentalist Islam and more than half ending with the woman being burned to death. Some women are boldly and publicly decrying the violence, including one Kurdish journalist who rails against oppression and head scarves in her magazine columns.</p>
<p> <a>In </a> the <em>NYT</em> &quot;Week in Review&quot; section, Ross Douthat <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/07/opinion/07douthat.html">rebuffs the broadening consensus</a> that the Republican Party should ditch its anti-abortion contingent. <a href="http://www.slate.com#Correction1">*</a> Contrary to the notion that this interest group harbors the radicals who most hurts the right's image, pro-lifers have met their opponents halfway, accepting public opinion and stricter restrictions, and many have abandoned politics altogether for personal activism. But to give up on overturning <em>Roe v. Wade </em>is to abandon the heart of the cause, to leave &quot;pro-choice absolutism&quot; in place to dominate the abortion debate.</p>
<p>The <em>NYT</em> reports the survival of two cultural institutions, one good and one bad. The bad news first: a <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/07/us/07dogs.html?hp">dogfighting subculture is now thriving in Texas</a>. In addition to established rings, the cruel sport is attracting a younger generation from &quot;hardscrabble neighborhoods,&quot; where &quot;gangs, drug dealing and hip-hop culture make up the backdrop.&quot; </p>
<p>The good news is that <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/07/arts/television/07sisa.html">college radio is still alive and well</a>, despite the near-fatal hit music radio has taken from the likes of iPods and <a href="http://www.imeem.com/">imeem</a>. College DJs say they don't listen to much radio aside from their own—they have iPods, too, and many are also bloggers. But America's 700 college stations have kept the music spinning—&quot;settling into a role as the slower but more loyal foil to the fickle blogosphere&quot;—and deserve more credit than they get for breaking new acts.</p>
<p> <a><em><strong>Correction</strong></em></a><em><strong>, Dec. 8, 2008: </strong>This article originally mislabeled the name of the </em>New York Times <em>&quot;Week in Review&quot; section as the &quot;Weekend&quot; section. (<a href="http://www.slate.com#Return1">Return</a> &nbsp;to the corrected sentence.) It also incorrectly stated that Senate Republicans want lawmakers to cut costs and reduce debt at auto companies—it's the automakers themselves who Republicans want to do the cost-cutting. (<a href="http://www.slate.com#Return2">Return</a> &nbsp;to the corrected sentence.) The article also misstated the cost of state road and school programs awaiting federal cash. Those project total an estimated $136 billion, not $136 million. (<a href="http://www.slate.com#Return3">Return</a> &nbsp;to the corrected sentence.)</em></p>Sun, 07 Dec 2008 11:44:00 GMThttp://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/todays_papers/2008/12/its_allin_the_works.htmlDavid Sessions2008-12-07T11:44:00ZNews and PoliticsBarack Obama's massive public works program takes shape.2206214David SessionsToday's Papershttp://www.slate.com/id/2206214falsefalsefalseMourning in Mumbaihttp://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/todays_papers/2008/11/mourning_in_mumbai.html
<p>The <em> <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/pages/todayspaper/index.html">New York Times</a></em>leads with <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/30/world/asia/30mumbai.html?pagewanted=1&amp;ref=todayspaper">emerging questions</a> about how the Mumbai gunmen evaded security forces and whether the government could have heeded warnings from last year that showed&nbsp;the city was&nbsp;vulnerable from the sea. The <em> <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/print/?nav=globetop">Washington Post</a></em> leads with more details about how the attacks went down, as told by several American survivors who were fired upon with no defense but to play dead. The <em> <a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/front/">Los Angeles Times</a></em>off-leads the <a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/front/la-fg-mumbai30-2008nov30,0,5490317,full.story">latest from Mumbai</a>, while the top slot goes to possible <a href="http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-pricetag30-2008nov30,0,7549258.story">future repercussions</a> of today's bailouts. The government's deficit could top $1 trillion next year, and analysists warn &quot;the nation's next financial crisis could come from the staggering cost of battling the current one.&quot;</p>
<p>The <em>WP</em>'s <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/11/29/AR2008112902196.html">lead story</a> is full of Mumbai attack survivors giving their gruesome, tragic play-by-plays, including one group of Americans fired upon in the &quot;posh lobby caf&eacute;&quot; of the Oberoi hotel. Nashville resident Linda Ragsdale at first pretended to be dead but was shot when she pulled a 13-year-old American girl to the ground, hoping to help her escape the gunfire. The girl died on the floor next to Ragsdale, who spoke from a hospital. (The general death tolls vary, but all three papers report six American deaths.) Outside the hospitals, the city is slowly beginning to stir again: The <em>LAT </em> <a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/front/la-fg-mumbai30-2008nov30,0,5490317,full.story">notes</a> that Mumbai prides itself on being a city that bounces back quickly, as it did after a 2006 bombing. That optimism is leading many to resume their normal activities, though some are referring to the attacks as their &quot;9/11&quot; and remain leery of crowded public places.</p>
<p>Indian Defense Minister A.K. Antony told the country's parliament in 2007 that he had received intelligence about attacks from the sea, the <em>NYT </em> <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/30/world/asia/30mumbai.html?pagewanted=1&amp;ref=todayspaper">reports</a>, based on details in the <em> <a href="http://www.indianexpress.com/">Indian Express</a>.</em> A subsequent investigation showed the Indian navy and coast guard lacking in long-range surveillance equipment. (None of the papers catches the overnight news that Indian Home Minister Shivraj Patil, facing heavy criticism for the attacks, has <a href="http://www.indianexpress.com/news/home-minister-shivraj-patil-resigns/392430/">resigned</a>.)</p>
<p>New initiatives ranging from $600 billion spent to lower mortgage rates to $200 billion handed off to stabilize Citigroup have ratcheted the government's bailout costs to $8.5 trillion—half of the United States' total economic output this year, the <em>LAT </em> <a href="http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-pricetag30-2008nov30,0,7549258.story">reports</a>. Both the Bush administration and Obama's economic team are approaching the current situation as direly as a war, &quot;vowing to spend whatever it takes to avoid a depression; they'll worry about the effect later.&quot; Not all of these staggering figures are direct government spending, and the government even stands to make money on transactions like the purchase of equity in troubled banks. But at the very least, Bush's and Obama's aggressive responses to the crisis may threaten Obama's expensive policy proposals like middle-class tax cuts and a health care overhaul.</p>
<p>We need a health care overhaul more than ever, experts tell the <em>WP </em>in a <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/11/29/AR2008112902182.html">front-page story</a> on the system's wastefulness and inefficiency. The United States&nbsp;spends 16 percent of its GDP on health care, but the numbers show Americans getting a poor return for their investment: We're &quot;29th in infant mortality, 48th in life expectancy and 19th out of 19 industrialized nations in preventable deaths.&quot; The consensus among insurers, physicians, and executives on the direction the industry should go is &quot;remarkable&quot; for people with so many competing interests; most of the experts suggest dramatically increasing efforts to promote prevention and wellness.</p>
<p>The <em>NYT</em> <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/30/washington/30clinton.html?ref=todayspaper">reports</a> that, as part of an agreement with Barack Obama, Bill Clinton will release the names of 200,000 donors to his foundation to &quot;avoid any appearance of conflict of interest with Mrs. Clinton's duties as the nation's top diplomat.&quot; Releasing the donor list was one of nine conditions Clinton agreed upon with the Obama transition team, a detailed pact that also allows Obama's State Department to review the former president's future speeches and business activities. Known controversial donors to Clinton's foundation include the house of Saud and &quot;a tycoon who is the son-in-law of Ukraine's former authoritarian president.&quot;</p>
<p>The Cathedral of St. John the Divine's in Manhattan, the largest Gothic cathedral in the world, will be reopen today after the completion of a $41.5 million renovation, <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/30/nyregion/30cathedral.html">the <em>NYT </em>reports</a>. The cathedral's massive pipe organ, which was dismantled after a 2001 fire, will be played for the first time in seven years at the rededication service.</p>
<p>The <em>WP </em>fronts a <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/11/29/AR2008112902045.html">story</a> on the complete absence of acorns in the D.C. area this year, a mysterious act of nature that has botanists abuzz and squirrels starving. The acorn drought seems to be part of a natural cycle for the area's oaks, and similar conditions have been reported as far away as upstate New York and Nova Scotia. </p>
<p> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucille_Austero#Lucille_Austero">Lucille Two</a> &nbsp;is back! After surviving numerous tabloid marriages, &quot;loopy&quot; interviews, and a debilitating brush with brain disease, Liza Minnelli is returning to Broadway in a new show titled <em>Liza's at the Palace</em>. Along with the usual celebrity new-beginning pleasantries, Minnelli <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/30/theater/30ishe.html?pagewanted=3&amp;ref=todayspaper">tells the <em>NYT</em></a><em></em>how she took control of her life's drama and why she's decided to stay single.</p>Sun, 30 Nov 2008 09:18:00 GMThttp://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/todays_papers/2008/11/mourning_in_mumbai.htmlDavid Sessions2008-11-30T09:18:00ZNews and PoliticsWith wounds still fresh, Mumbai begins to move forward.2205689David SessionsToday's Papershttp://www.slate.com/id/2205689falsefalsefalseBarack the Builderhttp://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/todays_papers/2008/11/barack_the_builder.html
<p>The <em> <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/pages/todayspaper/index.html">New York Times</a></em>, <em> <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/print/index.html">Washington Post</a></em>, and <em> <a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/front/">Los Angeles Times</a></em>all lead with President-elect Barack Obama's <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m17pz0R_qZo">announcement</a> Saturday of a sweeping stimulus plan designed to create 2.5 million jobs by spending billions on infrastructure, education, and alternative energy. The plan is more expansive than anything Obama proposed during his campaign and eclipses the last stimulus proposal attempted by President Clinton in 1996. Front page and A-section stories also analyze Obama's relationship with Hillary Clinton, who is <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/22/us/politics/22obama.html?_r=1">all but guaranteed</a> to become his secretary of state.</p>
<p>The <em>LAT </em> <a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/washingtondc/la-na-obama-team23-2008nov23,0,2412247.story">sees</a> Obama's two-year job proposal as &quot;the latest indication that the president-elect has decided to use the transition period to influence events at a time of crisis, when the current administration appears powerless to stop a slide.&quot; All three papers highlight the fact that Obama's new plan is more aggressive and expensive than the one he proposed during the campaign, though the <em>WP </em> <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/11/22/AR2008112200656.html">notes</a> that Obama's address was vague on specifics and price tags. (The <em>Post </em>also projects that the package will cost &quot;well over&quot; $200 billion, which would be &quot;bold&quot; compared to previous presidents' similar plans.) The <em>NYT</em> and <em>WP</em> both consider the possibility that Republicans could block such an ambitious deficit-spending measure.</p>
<p>The papers all report that Obama is considering allowing the Bush tax cuts to expire in 2010, rather than roll them back immediately. To do so would be to renege on a campaign promise, the <em>NYT</em> <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/23/us/politics/23obama.html?pagewanted=2&amp;ref=todayspaper">notes</a>, but it's also a no-brainer considering how the economic crisis has brought bipartisan agreement that the government should be pulling out all the stops to spur economic growth. Obama has scheduled a Monday press conference to introduce his economic advisers. The team will be led by Timothy Geithner, currently the president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, who Obama has selected for treasury secretary.</p>
<p>The <em>NYT</em> fronts a <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/23/us/politics/23hillary.html?ref=todayspaper">story</a> about the &quot;strategic courtship&quot; between Obama and Hillary Clinton, who reportedly agreed to be Obama's secretary of state late Friday. Their relationship first thawed, the soft-lede anecdote suggests, when Clinton gave a passionate speech asking voters to support Obama—a move that caused Obama's senior aides to give her a standing ovation. Democrats close to the senators say the two got past their bitter campaign fight long before their party did, and Clinton's tireless work on the campaign trail has proved her loyalty. The story's final paragraph reports Clinton has also spoken to Michelle Obama several times recently about raising a family in the White House.</p>
<p>The <em>WP</em> <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/11/22/AR2008112201999.html">reports</a> nervousness in the Arab world that Clinton, the &quot;most reliably pro-Israel&quot; contender for secretary of state, will continue what they see as a lack of balance in the United States' refereeing of the Palestinian-Israeli dispute. Clinton has made hawkish statements against Iran and has always spoken favorably of Israel, though supported the creation of a Palestinian state in 1998. Democratic senator Evan Bayh says Clinton is, above all, a &quot;pragmatist&quot; who will be most interested in a workable solution to Middle East conflicts. </p>
<p>The <em>LAT </em> <a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/front/la-et-shunned23-2008nov23,0,5732864.story">fronts</a> the post-election ire &quot;liberal Hollywood&quot; is feeling for supporters of Proposition 8, the ballot initiative that banned same-sex marriage in California. Activists &quot;continue to comb donor lists and employ the Internet to expose those who donated money to support the ban.&quot; Prominent artists and companies have been &quot;outed&quot; by activists, including California Musical Theater director Scott Eckern, the Mormon director of the company that puts on the L.A. Film Festival, and the Cinemark theater company. A lone gay rights supporter in the story expresses reluctance at the notion of firing someone for their beliefs.</p>
<p>A <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/23/business/media/23eisner.html?ref=todayspaper">profile</a> of Michael Eisner in the <em>NYT </em>finds the ex-Disney chief &quot;much happier&quot; outside of the company he led until the &quot;bitter, public fight&quot; that ended his tenure. Eisner now hosts a talk show on CNBC and dabbles successfully in new media ventures that include a video site and a video production company. </p>
<p>An <em>NYT </em> <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/23/arts/music/23pare.html?ref=todayspaper">review</a> describes Guns N' Roses' first album in 17 years as &quot;outsize, lavish, obsessive, technologically advanced and, all too clearly, the end of an era.&quot; <em>Chinese Democracy</em>, which features front man Axl Rose as the only original member, belatedly comments on eras that passed while his band was off the stage, from Metallica to Nine Inch Nails to U2. Full of Rose's famous indulgence, the record is a &quot;letdown&quot; that &quot;leaves his worst impulses unchecked.&quot;</p>
<p>A pair of <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/11/20/AR2008112003543.html">reviews</a> in the <em>WP</em> &quot;Book World&quot; section ponders the stunning achievement that is the modernization of the Hebrew language. Hebrew has developed a &quot;new vibrancy&quot; in less than a century, but is now, one author argues, &quot;messy, boisterous, even chaotic.&quot;</p>
<p>The <em>WP </em>&quot;Style&quot; section <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/11/21/AR2008112100706.html">previews</a> tomorrow night's two-hour &quot;prequel&quot; of the <em>24 </em>season that begins in January, in which iron-fisted counterterrorism agent Jack Bauer has moved on to humanitarian missions. The show still looks to be packed with sometimes-gruesome action, but has clearly entered a new, post-Bush administration paradigm: &quot;Torture has been discredited and abandoned as official policy. <em>24</em> seems to have gotten that memo.&quot;</p>Sun, 23 Nov 2008 09:23:00 GMThttp://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/todays_papers/2008/11/barack_the_builder.htmlDavid Sessions2008-11-23T09:23:00ZNews and PoliticsThe papers on Barack Obama's bridge-building, energy-producing plan to create jobs.2205301David SessionsToday's Papershttp://www.slate.com/id/2205301falsefalsefalseChange.govhttp://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/other_magazines/2008/11/changegov.html
<p><strong> The <em>Economist</em>, Nov. 15</strong> The <a href="http://www.economist.com/opinion/displaystory.cfm?story_id=12599261">cover story</a> downplays the significance of the upcoming G-20 summit: &quot;[G]lobal finance will not be remade in a five-hour powwow hosted by a lame-duck president after less preparation than many corporate board meetings.&quot; International finance is a &quot;tug-of-war&quot; between global markets and national sovereignty—it cannot simply be &quot;fixed.&quot; The leaders have a chance to make progress, &quot;but only if they temper their hyperbole with realism and humility.&quot;<strong>… </strong> An <a href="http://www.economist.com/world/unitedstates/displaystory.cfm?story_id=12607222">article</a> calls Obama's transition &quot;the most difficult in living memory&quot; and urges him to &quot;translate his vague philosophy of 'hope' and 'change' into governance.&quot; Obama's transition team is guided by Reagan's, which &quot;hit the ground running&quot; and worked closely with a policy think tank. President Bush is also trying to ensure that the transition moves fluidly, requiring even low-level staff to draw up detailed briefings and giving Obama unusual access to various departments.</p>
<p><strong><em> Time</em></strong>, Nov. 24 The <a href="http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1858701,00.html">cover story</a> surveys Obama's transition, reporting that it already occupies 120,000 square feet of office space in Washington. The president-elect has announced staff picks relatively early and plans to choose his Cabinet by the end of the month. Obama is doing his best to avoid a repeat of Bill Clinton's &quot;chaotic&quot; 1992 transition that left him ill-prepared for his first term. <strong>…</strong> A <a href="http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1858897,00.html">column</a> scolds journalists who have heralded Obama as &quot;a messiah who can give black people some manners, a God-child descending from the heavens to teacheth benighted African Americans the virtues of books and proper English and the evils of Pacman Jones and blaming the white man.&quot; Obama is a president, not a moral reformer, and statistics show that blacks are already helping themselves: Oprah and Bill Cosby are among their most respected figures, and 60 percent of young African-Americans find rap music's depiction of women offensive.</p>
<p><strong><em> New York Times Magazine,</em></strong> Nov. 16 The cover package features a series of interviews with outgoing Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, footnoted and &quot;amplified&quot; by other Bush administration figures. Rice thinks that electing a black president &quot;says around the world that you can overcome old wounds.&quot; And she's convinced that the administration she worked under has set the stage for positive change around the world. <strong>…</strong> In a brief interview, Karl Rove says he's never been booed off stages, as was widely reported. &quot;I've been booed <em>on </em> stages,&quot; he says. &quot;I'm a little bit tougher than to walk off a stage because someone says something ugly.&quot;<strong>…</strong> An article takes a bird's-eye view of the movement that led Obama to victory, summarizing the moments and turning points that created a climate of &quot;change.&quot; One such moment came in Iowa, when Obama told his staff he would &quot;hold their hand,&quot; effectively turning their apprehension into triumph.</p>
<p><strong><em> Mother Jones</em></strong>, November/December An <a href="http://www.motherjones.com/news/feature/2008/11/can-we-save-the-planet.html">article</a> by Al Gore challenges the United States to transition to exclusively American-made electricity in 10 years. While it would require sacrifice on the part of every citizen, a dramatic reduction in the cost of alternative energy sources has placed self-sufficiency well within reach. With the right technology, there's enough wind, solar, and dam energy to power the entire world. <strong>…</strong> An <a href="http://www.motherjones.com/news/feature/2008/11/the-seven-deadly-deficits.html">article</a> totals the costs of the Bush years, calculating both actual spending (Iraq) and lost opportunities (salaries that fallen soldiers didn't earn). All said, &quot;the gap between what we could have produced and what we did produce will easily exceed $1.5 trillion.&quot; Republicans &quot;simply trusted in supply-side economics—believing that, somehow, the economy would grow so much better with lower taxes that deficits would be ephemeral.&quot; That's a fantasy, and the only way to dig ourselves out of the hole is to cut spending or raise taxes.</p>
<p><strong><em> Harper's</em></strong>, December A front-of-book essay examines the historical relationship between masquerading (think Boston Tea Party) and politics, noting how often political debates are filled with participants adopting imaginary personas. Why do people mask their shared humanity in textbook partisan biographies? &quot;The partisan badge, the counterculture face paint, creates the illusion of membership in something less dull and burdensome than the whole human race.&quot;<strong>…</strong> An article lays out a blueprint for prosecuting the &quot;outlaw&quot; Bush administration, arguing that &quot;simply 'moving on' is not possible.&quot; But a president who committed &quot;war crimes&quot; is an unusual legal situation: It's hard to know whether he should be tried before an international criminal tribunal, a foreign court, or in U.S. military courts. The fourth and best option would be a &quot;commission of inquiry&quot;—a slow, deliberate process that would gradually build public consensus. But it would only be a first step, to be followed by formal prosecution.</p>
<p><strong>Must Read<br /></strong>P.J. O'Rourke's acerbic <a href="http://weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/015/791jsebl.asp">essay</a> in the <em>Weekly Standard </em>is the most amusing and unconventional &quot;death of conservatism&quot; analysis you'll find this week. </p>
<p><strong>Best Politics Piece<br /></strong>A <em>Time </em> <a href="http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1858897,00.html">column</a> on African-Americans' motivation to improve themselves without a &quot;messiah&quot; is a refreshing antidote to hyperbole.</p>
<p><strong>Best Culture Piece<br /></strong>A <a href="http://nymag.com/arts/books/features/52014/">profile</a> of Malcolm Gladwell in <em>New York</em><em></em>is both a window into an intriguing writer's mind and a study of journalistic celebrity.</p>
<p><strong>Must Skip<br /></strong><em>New York</em>'s <a href="http://nymag.com/news/politics/52029/">cover story</a> is a mass of high-flying, post-election feel-good-isms. Save it for future generations, but you've heard all this elsewhere lately.</p>
<p><strong>Copycat Award<br /></strong>Articles on Obama's transition in <em> <a href="http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1858701,00.html">Time</a></em>and the <em> <a href="http://www.economist.com/world/unitedstates/displaystory.cfm?story_id=12607222">Economist</a></em>include paragraphs that say—all but word-for-word—exactly the same things about Obama avoiding Clinton's mistakes by using his transition to hit the ground running.&nbsp; </p>Fri, 14 Nov 2008 22:52:00 GMThttp://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/other_magazines/2008/11/changegov.htmlDavid Sessions2008-11-14T22:52:00ZThe Economist and Time on Obama's transition.News and PoliticsWhat's new in the New York Times Magazine, Harper's, and Mother Jones.2204762David SessionsOther Magazineshttp://www.slate.com/id/2204762falsefalsefalseHow He Did Ithttp://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/other_magazines/2008/11/how_he_did_it.html
<p><strong><em> Newsweek</em></strong>, Nov. 17 A seven-part article on how Obama won the presidency spans 50,000 words and promises inside information from a&nbsp;team of reporters given special access over the past year. It <a href="http://www.newsweek.com/id/167582">begins</a> in Chicago with Barack Obama's unlikely decision to run for president on just two years' senate experience. Reporters embedded with the campaigns reveal how John McCain first <a href="http://www.newsweek.com/id/167639">found</a> a narrative, how Hillary Clinton's campaign <a href="http://www.newsweek.com/id/167639">lost</a> the primary death match, and how the McCain camp's &quot;loose cannon&quot; atmosphere continually sabotaged its own message. When McCain <a href="http://www.newsweek.com/id/167905">picked</a> Sarah Palin behind closed doors, it &quot;had the feel of a guerilla raid, a covert operation.&quot; The long story's <a href="http://www.newsweek.com/id/168017">final chapter</a> explains how Obama got voters to the polls in the last days and how rifts between advisers ended the McCain campaign on a &quot;poisonous&quot; note. As McCain staffers fought with Palin and one another, Obama showed the same calm he'd had since the beginning.</p>
<p><strong><em> The New Yorker</em></strong>, Nov. 17 An <a href="http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2008/11/17/081117fa_fact_lizza?currentPage=all">article</a> examines the &quot;obsessive singularity&quot; inside the Obama campaign that led them to victory: &quot;In their tactical view, all that was wrong with the United States could be summarized in one word: Bush.&quot; That strategy worked in both the primary and general elections, since both Hillary Clinton and John McCain could be portrayed as hardened members of the Washington establishment. Other election-deciding tactical moves included Obama's choice to opt out of public financing and his careful management of his own celebrity—particularly after McCain's effective Paris Hilton ad. <strong>…</strong> An <a href="http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2008/11/17/081117fa_fact_grann?currentPage=all">article</a> traces John McCain's path to &quot;losing his soul,&quot; as one supporter describes it. Before the 2008 campaign, McCain was respected by members of both parties because of &quot;a single belief: that he was more honorable than most politicians.&quot; Close friends confirm that his reputation wasn't a facade or a media concoction, which makes it all the more difficult to explain the angry, negative final months of his campaign.</p>
<p><strong><em> Weekly Standard</em></strong>, Nov. 17 A <a href="http://weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/015/791jsebl.asp">scathing essay</a> announces the end of conservatism and blames the movement's champions for its spectacular failure: &quot;We've had nearly three decades to educate the electorate about freedom, responsibility, and the evils of collectivism, and we responded by creating a big-city-public-school-system of a learning environment.&quot; Among the tactical blunders are the right's pandering to the South, hysterics over Bill Clinton's personal life, interference with the public will on abortion, bumbling foreign policy, and support for expansive government spending. <strong>…</strong> An <a href="http://weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/015/781cyxjn.asp">article</a> calls unity a &quot;recurring delusion of American politics,&quot; noting that most unifying presidents are only retrospectively acknowledged as such. Reagan is now considered successful but was a polarizing figure in office. Obama may, like Reagan, eventually be seen as effective. &quot;But if he does, it will be because, like Reagan, he engaged his ideological and political opponents in ferocious battles and beat them.&quot;</p>
<p><strong><em> New York</em></strong><strong><em>, </em>Nov. 17<br /></strong> The <a href="http://nymag.com/news/politics/52029/">cover story</a> rapturously calls Barack Obama &quot;a kind of religion … one rooted in a deep faith in rationality.&quot;<strong>…</strong> A <a href="http://nymag.com/arts/books/features/52014/">profile</a> interviews <em>New Yorker </em> writer Malcolm Gladwell, whose third book hits shelves next week. His first two, <em>The Tipping Point </em> and <em>Blink</em>, trekked in geek-cool academic research and marketing philosophy rendered as entertainment. Gladwell's critics object to his &quot;parasitic&quot; use of others' research, and the looseness with which he applies it to everyday situations. He tends to agree, and promises <em>Outliers</em>—which argues that the very successful are just very lucky—contains his &quot;very bedrock beliefs.&quot;<strong>…</strong> An <a href="http://nymag.com/news/features/52013/">article</a> tells the story of a <em>bailarina</em>, a Spanish dancer at one of the many New York clubs where men pay for dance partners or table companions. <em>Bailarinas </em> aren't strippers, but often manage complex, frustrating lives of multiple romances and abusive working conditions.</p>
<p><strong><em> The Nation,</em></strong> Nov. 24 An <a href="http://www.thenation.com/doc/20081124/madrick">article</a> blames the current economic situation on &quot;a mythology about the dangerous consequences of big government that does not stand up to the evidence.&quot; The numbers, rather, show that the economies of nations who spend far more of their GDPs on &quot;social transfers&quot; than the United States does grow at the same rates. Bold government action occasionally leads in the wrong direction, but correctly-administered programs are more likely to boost productivity than to hinder it. With a GDP of $15 trillion, the U.S. can easily afford the improvements it needs &quot;to compete in a more competitive world.&quot;<strong>…</strong> A <a href="http://www.thenation.com/doc/20081124/pollitt?rel=rightsideaccordian">column</a> backhandedly thanks Sarah Palin for her presence in the presidential race. She was &quot;a gift to feminism&quot; in both negative and positive ways: She clarified what feminism isn't (&quot;feel good, 'you go girl' appreciation of the female moxie&quot;) and worked in tandem with Hillary Clinton to normalize the idea of a female president.</p>Tue, 11 Nov 2008 21:38:00 GMThttp://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/other_magazines/2008/11/how_he_did_it.htmlDavid Sessions2008-11-11T21:38:00ZNewsweek and The New Yorker on Obama's win.News and PoliticsWhat's new in New York, the Weekly Standard, and The Nation.2204413David SessionsOther Magazineshttp://www.slate.com/id/2204413falsefalsefalseThe Last Dayshttp://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/todays_papers/2008/10/the_last_days.html
<p>The <em> <a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/front">Los Angeles Times</a></em>fills its lead slot with a <a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/front/la-na-homestretch26-2008oct26,0,3267822.story">look</a> at the presidential candidates' strategies for the last nine days on the campaign trail. McCain plans to spend most of his time attacking Obama's economic plan and warning of a Democratic supermajority, while the Obama campaign is concerned primarily with staving off overconfidence. The<em> <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/print/?nav=globetop">Washington Post</a></em> leads with a look at the <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/10/25/AR2008102502302.html?sid=ST2008102501857&amp;s_pos=">increased scrutiny</a> of credit card donations given to the candidates through their Web sites. Barack Obama's record-shattering $150 million campaign haul has raised questions in both parties about the laxly overseen, anonymous world of Internet campaign donations. The <em> <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/pages/todayspaper/index.html">New York Times</a></em> leads with the <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/26/business/26layoffs.html?ref=todayspaper">slowing demand</a> for American products, which means thousands of Americans are losing their jobs. Many of the United States' highest-profile corporations have announced layoffs, and economists expect unemployment numbers to exceed 200,000 when they are announced Nov. 7. </p>
<p>Barack Obama's &quot;message of hope&quot; will remain the same through Nov. 4, the <em>LAT </em>reports, while John McCain is sharpening the points of a &quot;three-pronged&quot; final attack that will focus on Obama's tax plan, his limited experience, and the excessive power the Democratic Party could wield if he is elected. Both sides admit the outlook is bleak for McCain, and the <em>LAT </em>reports that McCain's aides privately discuss his return to the Senate. Even though Obama leads comfortably in several states that McCain cannot afford to lose, his campaign is concerned about &quot;overconfidence.&quot; Obama campaign officials&nbsp;cite the razor-thin margins by which many battleground states were won in recent elections&nbsp;as caution&nbsp;that the race is still anyone's game. A <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/10/25/AR2008102501740.html">framed front-pager</a> in the <em>WP </em>focuses on the Republican Party's well-oiled get-out-the-vote machine in Colorado (a must-win for McCain), which may be threatened by Obama's impressively organized volunteers. Colorado Republicans say their grassroots experience in the state should give them an edge.</p>
<p>The <em>WP</em>'s<em></em> <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/10/25/AR2008102502302.html?sid=ST2008102501857&amp;s_pos=">lead story</a> reports that lawyers for both parties have asked the Federal Election Commission to examine Internet campaign donations, as the presidential campaigns have &quot;permitted donors using false names or stolen credit cards to make contributions.&quot; Conservative bloggers first raised the issue when they reported that &quot;test&quot; donations to the Obama campaign under names like &quot;Osama Bin Laden&quot; were always accepted. The Obama campaign says it makes strenuous efforts to flag suspicious donations and points to such irregularities in both candidates' donor records. </p>
<p>An <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/26/movies/26itzk.html?ref=todayspaper">article</a> in the <em>NYT </em>follows two Hollywood directors who are preparing to release R-rated comedies while hoping to somehow escape the shadow of dirty-laughs-with-a-heart extraordinaire Judd Apatow. It doesn't help Kevin Smith, director of <em>Zack and Miri Make a Porno</em>, that his movie stars Seth Rogen, the best-known face from Apatow's wildly popular films. Smith and David Wain, director of the upcoming comedy&nbsp;<em>Role Models</em>, both credit Apatow with reinvigorating the R-rated comedy marketplace, and Smith says he is happy if moviegoers mistakenly believe Apatow was a part of <em>Zack and Miri.</em></p>
<p>The <em>WP </em>metro section <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/10/25/AR2008102502053.html">reports</a> that churches and other ministries in the D.C. area are on &quot;the front lines&quot; of the economic crisis as their requests for aid have soared in recent months. Requests at charities operated by the Catholic Archdiocese of Washington have increased by 25 percent, and houses of worship of several faiths have seen a dramatic increase in calls. Churches are responding creatively: One cut its sermon broadcasts on TV and radio and decreased support to international missions to focus on the 300 percent increase in requests for marriage counseling.</p>
<p>A sprawling front-page <a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/front/la-me-gangster26-2008oct26,0,3181632,full.story">story</a> kicks off a seven-part <em>LAT </em>series on &quot;Noir Los Angeles.&quot; Part 1 profiles the &quot;Gangster Squad,&quot; an extralegal group of LAPD officers formed in 1946 to fight organized crime off the record. The squad was known in shady circles for its gun-to-the-head interrogations and obsessive eavesdropping on crime bosses like Mickey Cohen.</p>
<p>The <em>WP </em>&quot;Book World&quot; section <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/10/23/AR2008102302735.html">reviews</a> a psychological biography of Bill Clinton, a &quot;strange book&quot; that reads like &quot;the work of someone who at times appears to be in the grips of a schoolboy crush.&quot; The author, a psychologist at Johns Hopkins, seems to approach Clinton with preconceived designs, specifically in his attempt to diagnose Clinton with &quot;hypomania&quot; (a psychological predisposition toward charm in which the author has a significant professional interest).</p>
<p>The <em>NYT</em> goes <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/26/arts/television/26bell.html?ref=television">in search of</a> the real Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, American-girl twins with an aura of tabloid-worthy celebrity but a murkily defined public identity. The identical (but fraternal twin) sisters were first known as actors who shared a role on <em>Full House</em>, but now they would rather be known as entrepreneurs. They are co-presidents of a multibillion-dollar entertainment company and manage several fashion lines that carry their own designs. Mary Kate continues to act, starring in the television show <em>Weeds</em>, while Ashley is fixated on creating &quot;a true American brand.&quot;</p>
<p><em>WP</em> ombudsman Deborah Howell <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/10/24/AR2008102402800.html">sums up</a> a controversy-ridden week at the paper involving two glaring photo errors (one accidentally selected photo pictured Jack Valenti, who died last year) and a slew of subscriber cancellations after the <em>Post </em>endorsed Barack Obama. </p>
<p>A New Yorker who lost her Wall Street job well ahead of the current situation pens a <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/26/jobs/26pre.html?ref=todayspaper">column</a> in the <em>NYT</em> about finding relief in her misfortune and, after a much-needed period of rest, feels &quot;energized, eager to start a new career, and open to possibility.&quot;</p>Sun, 26 Oct 2008 10:16:00 GMThttp://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/todays_papers/2008/10/the_last_days.htmlDavid Sessions2008-10-26T10:16:00ZNews and PoliticsThe papers on the presidential candidates' endgames.2203110David SessionsToday's Papershttp://www.slate.com/id/2203110falsefalsefalsePrivatize Thishttp://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/other_magazines/2008/10/privatize_this.html
<p><strong><em> Economist,</em></strong> Oct. 18 An <a href="http://www.economist.com/opinion/displayStory.cfm?Story_ID=12429544">article</a> surveys the magazine's historical defenses of economic liberty and responds to global calls for the &quot;end&quot; of the free market: &quot;Capitalism has always engendered crises, and always will.&quot; The notion that privatization and deregulation have brought the world to the brink of economic collapse is shortsighted. Capitalism is still &quot;the best economic system man has invented yet,&quot; and governments should manage the bailouts responsibly to ensure that it stays that way. <strong>…</strong> An <a href="http://www.economist.com/world/unitedstates/displaystory.cfm?story_id=12429421">article</a> bluntly tells John McCain's campaign to &quot;drop his current line of attack.&quot; He should &quot;dump the dumb populism (even though it seems to be too late, alas, to dump the dumb populist-in-chief, Sarah Palin).&quot; McCain should focus on three &quot;plausible&quot; criticisms of his opponent: Obama is the most anti-business Democrat in a generation, single-party rule in Washington is dangerous, and Obama &quot;has never once in his career said boo to a Democratic goose.&quot;</p>
<p><strong> The<em> Atlantic</em>, November</strong> Editor James Bennet introduces the <em>Atlantic</em>'s <a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200811/bennet-design">semi-retro redesign</a>. <strong>… </strong> An <a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200811/transgender-children">article</a> follows an 8-year-old boy whose parents have decided to let him live as a girl. His story encapsulates one side of a deeply conflicted debate over transgender children, as psychologists and neuroscientists wrestle with inconclusive evidence for gender's biological origin. Some families embrace prepubescent sex changes while others have successfully implemented a therapeutic approach that involves &quot;turn[ing] their house into a 1950s kitchen-sink drama, intended to inculcate respect for patriarchy, in the crudest and simplest terms.&quot;<strong>…</strong> An <a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200811/andrew-sullivan-why-i-blog">essay</a> by Andrew Sullivan describes his passion for blogging but says it poses an unprecedented personal danger to writers. Its heavily introspective, diarylike nature &quot;exposes the author in a manner no author has ever been exposed before.&quot; Today is a &quot;golden age&quot; of journalism, producing the most carefully fact-checked, ruthlessly critiqued information we have ever had available.</p>
<p><strong><em> New York Times Magazine</em></strong>, Oct. 20 The cover story follows Barack Obama as he implements his &quot;50 state strategy&quot;—a tactical and philosophical plan to create &quot;new&quot; battleground states. Winning red states is crucial to Obama's plans for uniting a culturally divided country as well as his electoral math. (He doesn't want to be in the &quot;dreary position&quot; of counting on three states that make or break the election.) The strategy may well succeed; Obama is poised to win Virginia but still polls poorly with crucial demographics like rural white men. <strong>…</strong> A column claims that observing human flesh in high definition is &quot;emotionally overwhelming.&quot; Comparing Joe Biden's and Sarah Palin's high-def expressions during the vice-presidential debate would lead anyone to conclude that &quot;signs of cosmetic effort gone awry can be worse even than plain old human features.&quot; What if our bodies were never meant to be seen in this detail except by loved ones?</p>
<p><strong><em> Time</em></strong>, Oct. 27 The <a href="http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1850921-1,00.html">cover story</a> analyzes the presidential candidates' temperaments—does &quot;Mr. Fire or Mr. Ice&quot; better fit our national character? Temperament is &quot;as elusive as it is essential,&quot; and attempts to analyze it often lead to caricature. McCain's and Obama's temperaments only hint at potential blunders, and voters can't know what challenges they will face in office. <strong>…</strong> A <a href="http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1851119,00.html">column</a> by <strong><em>Slate</em></strong>'s founding editor Michael Kinsley insists the next president must exhibit &quot;greatness.&quot; The problem is, our political system is &quot;designed to weed out precisely the qualities that are most needed.&quot; Contrary to popular opinion, empathy isn't one of them. The country needs &quot;astringency&quot;—the willingness to tell voters how it is—and &quot;intelligence&quot; in the form of &quot;intellectual curiosity.&quot; We face complex crises that require &quot;a willingness to engage with complicated ideas.&quot;</p>
<p><strong><em> Rolling Stone</em></strong>, Oct. 30 The magazine <a href="http://www.chicagotribune.com/features/lifestyle/chi-rollingstone-1015oct15,0,3766883.story">retires</a> its famous wide format in an issue that features Barack Obama on the cover for the third time this year. <strong>…</strong> The <a href="http://www.rollingstone.com/news/coverstory/23589412/">cover story</a> is an interview with Obama on his 16<sup>th</sup> wedding anniversary. He gives some frank responses—he's &quot;not completely pure&quot; when it comes to big donors' influence—and some predictably evasive ones. He won't talk trash about the ladies—specifically why he didn't pick Hillary Clinton and why on earth John McCain picked Sarah Palin. <strong>…</strong> An <a href="http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/story/23638322/block_the_vote">article</a> co-authored by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. alleges that Republican operatives &quot;are wielding new federal legislation to systematically disenfranchise Democrats.&quot; The authors charge that disgraced Republican lobbyist Jack Abramoff packed a widely applauded bipartisan election-reform bill with hidden clauses and favors for clients. The alleged tactics also include purging legitimate voters from ballots, requiring unnecessary photo IDs, and rejecting &quot;spoiled&quot; ballots.</p>
<p><strong>Must Read<br /></strong>The <em>Atlantic</em>'s <a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200811/transgender-children">article</a> on the lives of transgender children is thorough and relentlessly compelling, finding sympathetic figures on both sides of the contentious psychological debate.</p>
<p><strong>Must Skip<br /></strong><em>Time</em>'s Oct. 27 <a href="http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1850921-1,00.html">cover story</a> rehashes well-worn presidential leadership theory and paints mostly inconclusive portraits of the candidates.</p>
<p><strong>Best Politics Piece<br /></strong>The <em>New York Times Magazine</em>'s cover story on Barack Obama's &quot;new battleground states&quot; achieves where other overlong strategic pieces fail—it shows us Obama up close as he tries to reach out to those inclined to distrust him. </p>
<p><strong>Best Culture piece<br /></strong><em>New York Times Magazine</em> media columnist Virginia Heffernan's take on candidates in high def humorously investigates the visceral realities that emerge when technology puts our bodies under its microscope.</p>
<p><strong>Best Advice <br /></strong>The <em>Economist</em>'s open <a href="http://www.economist.com/world/na/displaystory.cfm?story_id=12429421">memo</a> to John McCain is full of the magazine's wry humor and no-nonsense realism.</p>Fri, 17 Oct 2008 22:11:00 GMThttp://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/other_magazines/2008/10/privatize_this.htmlDavid Sessions2008-10-17T22:11:00ZThe Economist on why capitalism still works.News and PoliticsWhat's new in Time, Rolling Stone, and the Atlantic.2202436David SessionsOther Magazineshttp://www.slate.com/id/2202436falsefalsefalseBeautiful Mindshttp://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/other_magazines/2008/10/beautiful_minds.html
<p><strong><em> The New Yorker</em></strong>, Oct. 20 A <a href="http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2008/10/20/081020fa_fact_lizza">profile</a> of the all-but-ignored Joe Biden reveals his hesitations about accepting Obama's invitation to join the Democratic ticket. (He insisted Obama choose him for his legislative experience, not his demographic pull.) Biden says that he and Obama tend to think well of other senators—including John McCain, a friend of Biden—and refrain from questioning their motives. Biden says he'd model his vice presidency after Lyndon B. Johnson, who the writer notes &quot;tried to remain something of a Senate man.&quot;<strong>…</strong> An <a href="http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2008/10/20/081020fa_fact_gladwell">article</a> by Malcolm Gladwell compares two different creative types: the young genius who emerges fully formed and the &quot;late bloomer&quot; whose artistic goals are so elusive that they require decades of practice to develop. Gladwell says the latter category flies in the face of conventional ideas about genius and creativity. Yet it describes writers like Ben Fountain, a successful lawyer who abandoned his career to write fiction, and painters like Cezanne.</p>
<p><strong><em> New York</em></strong><strong>, Oct. 20<br /></strong> An <a href="http://nymag.com/news/features/51167/index.html">article</a> finds that Wasilla, Alaska, is nothing like the &quot;microcosm of America&quot; Sarah Palin describes. The formerly desolate town of 10,000 is now marked with traces of Palin's governance (fast food and strip malls) and evidence of her unexpected rise to fame (churches that kick out press visitors). A number of Wasillans don't like Palin citing their town as her &quot;experience,&quot; and some question her insistence that she &quot;didn't blink&quot; when maybe she should have.<strong>...</strong> A <a href="http://nymag.com/movies/profiles/51160/">review</a> of Oliver Stone's <em>W. </em> draws parallels between Stone and his subject, George W. Bush: &quot;Though on opposite sides of the culture war, Bush and Stone were, fundamentally, questioners of the same authority—their fathers.&quot; Bush was forced to run his father's 1992 campaign, and the loss—which was attributed to his father's weakness—stung him. Similarly, Stone was &quot;propelled out of his adolescence by a prodigiously talented, prodigiously damaged seeker.&quot;</p>
<p><strong><em> Weekly Standard</em></strong>, Oct. 20 An <a href="http://weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/015/691vjfsv.asp">article</a> attempts to nail down Barack Obama's foreign policy ethos. His escalation procedure—diplomacy, more diplomacy, economic sanctions, then maybe a few strikes—bears a strong resemblance to Bill Clinton's. The exception is Afghanistan: Obama supports a &quot;fundamental redeployment from an open-ended commitment in Iraq to an open-ended commitment in Afghanistan.&quot;<strong>…</strong> An <a href="http://weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/015/677zpejl.asp">article</a> presented as a lecture on Obamanomics from &quot;Weekly Standard U&quot; divides Obama's economic plans into three divisions: &quot;the not-so-bad, the bad, and the really, really bad.&quot; The less terrible: Obama's advisers are decent, and the markets would benefit from his cool temperament. The bad: &quot;Obamanomics equals higher taxes, more government spending, a larger deficit, a more complicated tax code, increased regulation, a slowdown in global economic integration, and the resurrection of the labor unions.&quot;</p>
<p><strong><em> Newsweek</em></strong>, Oct. 20 The <a href="http://www.newsweek.com/id/163449">cover story</a>, written by Fareed Zakaria, sees the &quot;silver lining&quot; of the economic crisis: &quot;This crisis has—dramatically, vengefully—forced the United States to confront the bad habits it has developed over the past few decades.&quot; According to one economist, the country has &quot;demanded lots of government but refused to pay for it&quot;—and as the old saying goes, &quot;there is no free lunch.&quot; The collapse has been a &quot;wake-up call from Hell&quot; to both citizens and government, insisting that we confront our collective debt. <strong>…</strong> Twin profiles of presidential campaign managers <a href="http://www.newsweek.com/id/163621">Steve Schmidt</a> and <a href="http://www.newsweek.com/id/163623">David Axelrod</a> compare their approaches. Schmidt is credited with shaping up Arnold Schwarzenegger's bully image and solidifying his 2006 re-election and with forcing McCain to stick to a script. Axelrod famously taught an Indiana congresswoman &quot;the value of going negative&quot; and, despite perceptions, has been a staunch proponent of negative campaigning.</p>
<p><strong><em> The Nation</em></strong>, Oct. 27 An <a href="http://www.thenation.com/doc/20081027/posner">article</a> wonders if the Democrats' aggressive outreach to evangelicals will actually bear fruit: &quot;[It] may counter the right-wing myth that Democrats are anti-religion, at least among progressively inclined believers, but it's unclear whether they will shift enough religious voters to alter the electoral map.&quot; Evangelicals have been more &quot;persuadable&quot; in this campaign than in 2004, but&nbsp;they were gravitating toward John McCain even before he picked Sarah Palin. Still, the few remaining undecideds may be a crucial gain for Obama. <strong>…</strong> A <a href="http://www.thenation.com/doc/20081027/lieberman">piece</a> dissects Obama's health care plan and wonders how many of its proposals are realistic. Of chief concern are his plan to make insurance companies accept all applicants and his lack of specifics on making Medicare sustainable. His approach is &quot;calculated not to arouse opposition from private industry,&quot; but it may not be &quot;bold&quot; enough to address the health care system's crippling problems.</p>Tue, 14 Oct 2008 20:18:00 GMThttp://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/other_magazines/2008/10/beautiful_minds.htmlDavid Sessions2008-10-14T20:18:00ZMalcolm Gladwell on the two types of geniuses.News and PoliticsWhat's new in New York, Newsweek, and The Nation.2202266David SessionsOther Magazineshttp://www.slate.com/id/2202266falsefalsefalseCritical Masshttp://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/todays_papers/2008/09/critical_mass.html
<p>The <em> <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/print/?nav=globetop"><em>Washington Post</em></a></em>, <em> <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/pages/todayspaper/index.html"><em>New York Times</em></a></em>, and <em> <a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/front/"><em>Los Angeles Times</em></a> &nbsp;</em>each lead Congress' late-night progress toward agreement on an economic bailout plan on Saturday. Yesterday's talks were propelled by the need to act swiftly, and focused on adding strict oversight to the $700 billion as well as exploring new ways to pay for the measure that would avoid sticking taxpayers with the bill. </p>
<p>&quot;We're moving, we're moving,&quot; Sen. Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/27/AR2008092702037.html?sid=ST2008092701816&amp;s_pos=">told</a> the <em>WP </em>after last night's session, from which Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson emerged around 12:30 a.m. (Both he and Sen. Nancy Pelosi called the evening's work &quot;great progress.&quot;) Congress did reach a tentative agreement, the <em>NYT</em> <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/28/business/28bailout.html?ref=todayspaper">reports</a>, with congressional staff working around the clock to finalize language that will hopefully be ready for a Monday vote. The new plan includes some limits on executive pay and provides for strict oversight of the rescue monies. Additionally, the <em>LAT </em> <a href="http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-bailout28-2008sep28,0,5936128.story">reports</a>, the updated accord is &quot;expected to call for the money to be made available in installments instead of one enormous lump sum.&quot; Democrats and Republicans both seem to agree that the bailout should not take place &quot;on the backs of taxpayers,&quot; the <em>WP </em>reports, and even the conservatives most strongly against it expect the&nbsp; &quot;critical mass&quot; forming behind the current agreement to push it through Congress.</p>
<p>The <em>NYT </em>begins what is certain to be a long string of investigation of exactly how the current crisis developed. An <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/28/business/28melt.html?ref=todayspaper">off-lead story</a> goes &quot;behind&quot; the AIG crisis, its headline reporting the insurer's &quot;blind eye to a web of risk.&quot; The <em>LAT</em>'s front page <a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/front/la-fi-cost28-2008sep28,0,862451.story">wonders</a> if taxpayers might actually turn a profit on the bailout, citing the government's 1994 rescue of the Mexican peso—an investment that yielded a $500 million profit. The <em>WP</em>'s front page <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/27/AR2008092702906.html">focuses</a> on matters of the moment, like whether the collective turn of the nation's heads toward the economy will hurt John McCain. Barack Obama has opened up a narrow lead in national polls as well as significant battleground states, putting McCain on the defensive. &quot;For McCain, the danger is that previously undecided voters will become comfortable that Obama is ready to be president. The longer Obama can hold even a small lead, the more difficult it will be for McCain to reverse it.&quot;</p>
<p>An expansive, above-the-fold A1 <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/28/us/politics/28gambling-web.html?hp">story</a> in the <em>NYT </em>highlights John McCain's &quot;many ties&quot; to the gambling industry, illustrating with an accompanying <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/imagepages/2008/09/28/us/politics/28gambling_graph1.htm">graphic</a> that contributions from gambling interests to McCain's campaign are double those made to Barack Obama. McCain is a &quot;lifelong gambler&quot; and &quot;one of the founding fathers of Indian gaming,&quot; according to a professor and &quot;leading Indian gambling expert.&quot; More than 40 of McCain's advisers and fundraisers have worked for &quot;an array of gambling interests&quot; ranging from Las Vegas casinos to online poker purveyors. The only comment the <em>Times</em> received from the McCain campaign was a&nbsp;hostile suggestion that the story would &quot;insinuate impropriety on the part of Senator McCain where none exists&quot; and &quot;gamble away&quot; its remaining credibility.</p>
<p>All three front pages memorialize Paul Newman, the iconic star of <em>Cool Hand Luke </em>who was known for his piecing blue eyes. Newman died of cancer in his home on Saturday at age 83. &quot;If Marlon Brando and James Dean defined the defiant American male as a sullen rebel, Paul Newman recreated him as a likable renegade, a strikingly handsome figure of animal high spirits and blue-eyed candor whose magnetism was almost impossible to resist,&quot; the <em>NYT </em> <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/28/movies/28newman.html?hp">eulogizes</a>. Newman acted in more than 65 movies in his 50-year career. (<em><strong>Slate</strong></em>'s Dahlia Lithwick reminisced about Newman <a href="http://www.slate.com/id/2201116/">here</a>.)</p>
<p>The <em>WP </em>Style section profiles Robin Thicke, a &quot;31-year-old 'white guy who looks like a white guy' (right down to the blue eyes) but who sings black music to majority-black audiences.&quot; Thick's soulful R&amp;B tracks have gained unprecedented popularity in the African-American community, with his single &quot;Lost Without U&quot; becoming the most successful R&amp;B song on the <em>Billboard</em> charts since 1965—and the first white performer to top the chart since 1992. Though he has transcended race in virtually ever quantifiable way, Thicke says it &quot;will always be a part of the conversation,&quot; and enjoys talking about his unusual spot at the top of the black music industry.</p>
<p>The <em>NYT</em> Metro section <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/28/nyregion/28spitzer.html?ref=todayspaper">stalks</a> dethroned New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer, who is now a &quot;face in the crowd&quot; around the city. Based on e-mail messages obtained in a Freedom of Information Act request and brief on-the-street encounters with Spitzer, the story pieces together the former governor's current routine and his plans for the future. He currently works for his father's real-estate firm and has possible plans to rehabilitate his image through charity or pro bono legal work. Spitzer is viciously defensive of his policy reputation, saying he was &quot;right&quot; about AIG when he attempted to oust its embattled chairman in 2005. </p>
<p><em>WP </em>ombudsman Deborah Howell <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/26/AR2008092602961.html">responds</a> to e-mails from 750 angry readers—&quot;more than I heard from about the financial crisis&quot;—protesting a Pat Oliphant cartoon that ran on the <em>Post</em>'s Web site. The illustration depicted Sarah Palin speaking in tongues to God, who responded that he couldn't understand her &quot;damn right wing gibberish.&quot; Howell's poll of <em>Post </em>editors finds that the paper would not have run the cartoon in print.</p>Sun, 28 Sep 2008 08:40:00 GMThttp://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/todays_papers/2008/09/critical_mass.htmlDavid Sessions2008-09-28T08:40:00ZNews and PoliticsThe papers on Congress' progress toward a bailout agreement.2201128David SessionsToday's Papershttp://www.slate.com/id/2201128falsefalsefalse$700,000,000,000http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/todays_papers/2008/09/700000000000.html
<p>The Sunday editions of the <em> <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/print/index.html">Washington Post</a></em>, <em> <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/pages/todayspaper/index.html">New York Times</a></em>, and <em> <a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/front/">Los Angeles Times</a></em> all lead with the latest details on the Bush administration's plan to rescue the crippled U.S. economy—most of all yesterday's increase of the price to $700 billion, a figure higher than the current cost of the Iraq war. (The <em>LAT </em> <a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/front/la-na-wallstreet21-2008sep21,0,4214064.story">conveys</a> the magnitude of the number by sprawling all 11 zeros across its front page.) Bush's plan would also give the Treasury Department &quot;unfettered authority&quot; to buy failing properties, <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/21/business/21cong.html?ref=todayspaper">notes</a> the <em>NYT</em>'s lede, and raise the legal limit for U.S. national debt to a staggering $11.3 trillion. All three papers also front yesterday's deadly hotel bombing in Pakistan, one of the most catastrophic terrorist attacks in the nation's history. </p>
<p>Speaking Saturday about his bailout plan, President Bush said, &quot;The risk of doing nothing far outweighs the risk of the package&quot; and that, over time, we're going to get a lot of the money back. The <em>WP </em> <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/20/AR2008092000883.html">reports</a> that the proposal puts no time limit on how long the government may hold the assets it purchases but that the goal is &quot;to sell them after housing prices recover and to earn back much of the money.&quot; </p>
<p>While just about everyone agrees that a basic bailout for Wall Street is necessary, there is potential conflict afoot: Democrats plan to insist on provisions to &quot;help hundreds of thousands of troubled borrowers at risk of losing their homes to foreclosure,&quot; the <em>NYT</em> reports. &quot;Democrats worry that it will primarily be viewed as a bailout for big Wall Street firms,&quot; the <em>WP</em> explains. (House Majority Leader Nancy Pelosi is quoted by the <em>NYT</em> saying the government should &quot;insulate Main Street from Wall Street.&quot;) Both papers mention congressional Republicans' warnings that the extra spending measures will slow the proposal's passage. </p>
<p>Forty people were killed and 250 were injured in Islamabad, Pakistan, when an explosives-packed truck rammed into the gates of the five-star Marriott, where foreign diplomats often stay. Similar attacks have been previously attempted on the hotel, which is near both Pakistan's house of parliament and the residence of its prime minister. The precise hour chosen for this attempt—after sunset during Ramadan—was plainly strategic, the <em>LAT</em> notes, since it was a time when the hotel was certain to be overflowing with guests. No militant groups have yet claimed responsibility for the bombing, but the <em>LAT </em> <a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-pakistan21-2008sep21,0,4047302.story">observes</a> that &quot;the size of the truck bomb, the successful strike against a well-guarded target and the apparently careful planning were all signs of a skilled and experienced militant group.&quot; </p>
<p>In a separate story deeper in the paper, the <em>NYT </em> <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/21/world/asia/21pstan.html">reports</a> the first speech from freshly sworn-in Pakistani president Asif Ali Zardari, who called for an end&nbsp;to both terrorism and U.S. missions to counter terrorism within Pakistan. </p>
<p>The <em>NYT</em> and <em>WP</em> front (and the <em>LAT</em> also reports) the resignation of South African President Thabo Mbeki, whose party voted to recall him before the conclusion of his final term. A bitter rivalry with populist politician Jacob Zuma led to the vote—a court cleared Zuma of corruption charges last week and suggested that Mbeki had plotted to have him prosecuted, an accusation that inflamed party divisions. The <em>WP </em> <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/20/AR2008092000705.html">describes</a> Zuma as &quot;a populist who is considered likely to win the presidency next year.&quot; The <em>NYT </em> <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/21/world/africa/21safrica.html?ref=todayspaper">credits</a> the outgoing president, who succeeded Nelson Mandela, with &quot;[leading] the nation to an unprecedented run of economic growth&quot; but notes that his administration floated dubious theories about AIDS infection and was unable to resolve South Africa's deep divide between the rich and poor. </p>
<p>The <em>LAT </em> <a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/front/la-na-troopergate21-2008sep21,0,5688051.story">fronts</a> grumbling in Alaska over the McCain-Palin campaign's seeming siege of the governor's office in Juneau, which now diverts all calls and requests to campaign headquarters in Virginia. The editorial page of the <em>Anchorage Daily News </em>demanded yesterday that Sarah Palin &quot;speak for herself, directly to Alaskans, about her actions as Alaska's governor.&quot; The campaign's information lockdown has touched a &quot;raw nerve&quot; with the state's &quot;fiercely independent&quot; populace, which has more criticism for Palin now than before her nomination as the Republican candidate for vice president. The complaining Alaskans on record for the story range from Democratic legislators to conservative talk-radio hosts. </p>
<p>A <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/21/us/politics/21gay.html?ref=todayspaper">story</a> in the <em>NYT</em>'s &quot;A&quot; section links a same-sex marriage ban to appear on California's November ballot to the expected high turnout among black voters mobilized to vote for Barack Obama. Gay rights groups worry that African-American voters, who generally lean conservative on social issues, will provide extra support for the ban when they turn out to vote for Obama. To counter that possible side effect, they are courting black pastors and churches with this message: &quot;Gay people are black and black people are gay,&quot; as one leader told the <em>Times</em>. </p>
<p>A whimsical <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/18/AR2008091801812.html">essay</a> in the <em>WP</em> &quot;Style&quot; section marks the passing of the &quot;everybody&quot; era of pop culture, which has given way to the &quot;nobody&quot; era. (&quot;Nobody watches television on an actual television. Nobody watches actual broadcasts in real time, because nobody sits through ads. Nobody watches entire TV shows, just the best clips. Nobody watches prime time.&quot;) But we may be less fragmented than we think—after all, &quot;everybody&quot; is&nbsp;telling us the ways &quot;nobody&quot; does it anymore. </p>Sun, 21 Sep 2008 09:12:00 GMThttp://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/todays_papers/2008/09/700000000000.htmlDavid Sessions2008-09-21T09:12:00ZNews and PoliticsThe papers on the Bush administration's pricey plan to save the economy.2200575David SessionsToday's Papershttp://www.slate.com/id/2200575falsefalsefalseA Black Weekhttp://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/other_magazines/2008/09/a_black_week.html
<p><strong><em> Economist</em></strong>, Sept. 20 An <a href="http://www.economist.com/opinion/displaystory.cfm?story_id=12263158">article</a> summarizes the most dire week for the global economy in recent memory, cringing at U.S. government bailouts but admitting that outright failures would be an even grimmer fate. Rescue, however, has a steep price; each one &quot;discourages investors from worrying about the creditworthiness of those they trade with—and thus encourages the next excess.&quot; Even after a &quot;black week,&quot; there is no evidence that another Great Depression is looming. &quot;A longer-term worry is the inevitable urge to regulate modern finance into submission.&quot;<strong>…</strong> An <a href="http://www.economist.com/opinion/displaystory.cfm?story_id=12262173">article</a> expresses dismay at the nasty turn of the presidential election, especially since the candidates &quot;both represent much that is best about their respective parties.&quot; The McCain campaign is mostly to blame for bringing back a tone that &quot;shows that America is back in the territory of the 'culture wars,' where the battle will be less about policy than about values and moral character.&quot;<strong><em>&nbsp;</em></strong></p>
<p><strong><em> Time</em></strong>, Sept. 29 The <a href="http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1842123-1,00.html">cover story</a> rolls up its sleeves for a jargon-free dig into the financial crisis, the likes of which &quot;even people like us, with a combined 65 years of writing about business, have never seen.&quot; The presidential candidates haven't offered more than obvious solutions so far, but it's clear that &quot;the next President will have to cast away partisan predispositions and add the just-right measure of regulation and oversight to the mix.&quot;<strong>…</strong> A handy illustrated <a href="http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1842270,00.html">guide</a> outlines the presidential candidates' &quot;facts and fibs,&quot; plotting them on a grid a la<em> New York</em>'s approval matrix. McCain and Obama nearly&nbsp;have an equal number of ads at the &quot;mostly false&quot; end of the spectrum, but McCain has quite a few more that are both &quot;silly&quot;<em>and </em>&quot;mostly false.&quot;<strong>…</strong> In an amusing <a href="http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1842286,00.html">Q&amp;A</a>, Alec Baldwin divulges his thoughts on Tina Fey's Sarah Palin impression and explains why he and Fey will never hook up on <em>30 Rock.</em> <strong><em>&nbsp;</em></strong></p>
<p><strong><em> GQ</em></strong>, October 2008 An <a href="http://men.style.com/gq/features/full?id=content_7462">article</a> examines John McCain's eight trips to Iraq and finds that &quot;a portrait emerges of an intellectually curious, incisive, energetic, and courageous politician.&quot; McCain almost always had the right intuitions about the war's direction, but, because of his respect of rank and personal valor, didn't always press for his position. His Iraq visits &quot;reveal an independent-thinking critic who nonetheless held his tongue in moments where a dissenting voice would have been of greater service to his commander in chief.&quot;<strong>…</strong> An <a href="http://men.style.com/gq/features/landing?id=content_7468">article</a> visits an oil rig near Alaska's uninhabitable North Slope, detailing the dangerous lives of the &quot;roughnecks&quot; who spend two weeks at a time working in unimaginable conditions, where &quot;time bends, blurs, all but disappears.&quot; But the writer's sympathy is rebuffed: &quot;You don't get it,&quot; the men tell her. &quot;We <em>want</em> to be here. We haven't been sentenced here. We are happy here.&quot;</p>
<p><strong><em> New York Times Magazine</em></strong>, Sept. 21 In the magazine's annual college issue, an article profiles the long-shot schemer behind a student-generated college-review Web site called Unigo. Jordan Goldman graduated from Wesleyan, sent 500 e-mails to businessmen he found online, and sold one on his idea: a site that would &quot;siphon away a few million dollars from the slow-adapting publishers of those elephantine college guidebooks that have been a staple of the high-school experience for decades.&quot;<strong>…</strong> Another article profiles Dan Shapiro, an eccentric psychologist-turned-Harvard law professor who teaches an unorthodox course at the Dubai School of Government: &quot;Capturing the Power of Negotiation.&quot; Shapiro sees even the global business world as governed by feelings and shows students &quot;how emotions and pride can take over our rational decision making.&quot;</p>
<p><strong><em> Reason</em></strong>, October 2008 A column calls Barack Obama the &quot;return of liberal interventionism,&quot; noting that he is against &quot;the logic of the Iraq war but not of wars <em>like </em> Iraq.&quot; Obama began his political career at an anti-war rally by saying he was &quot;not an anti-war candidate,&quot; and has since &quot;called for, or retroactively endorsed, interventions in Zimbabwe, Pakistan, and Sudan.&quot; Like many liberals, Obama believes Iraq was &quot;an aberration … botched by a Republican president.&quot;<strong>…</strong> An article profiles the &quot;unlikely coalition&quot; responsible for gutting the Real ID Act of 2005, which mandated that all states switch to a standardized driver's license. Rep. Karen Johnson, a self-described &quot;right-wing nut&quot; who peddles Sept. 11 conspiracy theories, penned Arizona's opt-out legislation. Now, the growing number of rebel states have been joined by the ACLU. &quot;Deride them all you want, but the nuts … [have] managed to beat back one of the most egregious recent assaults on individual privacy.&quot;</p>
<p><strong>Must Read<br /></strong>An intrepid <em>GQ </em>reporter, after a year of trying to gain access, <a href="http://men.style.com/gq/features/landing?id=content_7468">sends back</a> a compelling image of what it's like to work in Alaska's oil industry. </p>
<p><strong>Must Skip<br /></strong><em>Newsweek</em>'s Sept. 22 <a href="http://www.newsweek.com/id/158893">cover story</a> on &quot;what women want&quot; in presidential politics is a wordy rehash of the past few weeks' campaign chatter.</p>
<p><strong>Best Politics Piece<br /></strong>The <em>Economist</em>'s Sept. 20 <a href="http://www.economist.com/opinion/displaystory.cfm?story_id=12262173">piece</a> on the tone of the presidential campaign is a refreshingly fair-minded analysis of how things got ugly. </p>
<p><strong>Best Culture Piece<br /></strong>A column in the Oct. 6 issue of <em>Reason</em> reviews recent films and TV shows that have attempted to re-romanticize the sexual revolution, and concludes that '70s luster has been lost to the &quot;<em>Housewives and the City</em>&quot; era when &quot;the line between naughtiness and practically Islamic notions of sexual purity is erased.&quot;</p>
<p><strong>Funniest Piece on a Not-So-Funny Topic<br /></strong><em>Time</em>'s Sept. 29 <a href="http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1842123,00.html">cover story</a> takes a jokey approach to the financial crisis, calling it &quot;financial horror show, as if Stephen King were channeling Alan Greenspan to produce scary stories full of negative numbers.&quot;</p>Fri, 19 Sep 2008 20:56:00 GMThttp://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/other_magazines/2008/09/a_black_week.htmlDavid Sessions2008-09-19T20:56:00ZThe Economist on Wall Street's ongoing nightmare.News and PoliticsWhat's new in Time, GQ, and the New York Times Magazine.2200413David SessionsOther Magazineshttp://www.slate.com/id/2200413falsefalsefalseFishing With Dickhttp://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/other_magazines/2008/09/fishing_with_dick.html
<p><strong><em> The New Yorker</em></strong>, Sept. 22 An <a href="http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2008/09/22/080922fa_fact_remnick">article</a> profiles Echo of Moscow, an independent Russian radio station that, at its inception in 1990, was a lone beacon of &quot;fair and balanced&quot; news and commentary in the Soviet world. After Putin's media crackdown, the station is &quot;the last of an endangered species.&quot; The Kremlin is reluctant to suppress Echo because of its reputation and its example of free speech, but Putin has informed the station's producers that they are being watched. Still, Echo's personalities refuse to parrot his talking points. <strong>…</strong> An <a href="http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2008/09/22/080922fa_fact_gourevitch">article</a> surveys the political landscape of Alaska, which was as sensational and tumultuous as Alaskans had ever seen it <em>before</em> John McCain selected its governor as his running mate. Most of the discussion, of course, involves Sarah Palin's governing style: unorthodox in tone but substantively in keeping with Alaska's nonpartisan, economics-focused political culture.</p>
<p><strong><em> Weekly Standard</em></strong>, Sept. 22 In the <a href="http://weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/015/563vcceo.asp">cover story</a>, senior writer Matt Labash takes a trip to Wyoming to profile Dick Cheney the fly fisherman. Cheney granted the interview request only because he &quot;wanted to see what kind of reporter had the cojones to convince his editors to pay for him to come up to fish the South Fork.&quot; Labash spends a day practicing in the new environment before his contest with Cheney, then loses by a wide margin. &quot;In several decades of watching him,&quot; Labash writes, &quot;I've never seen him smile this big.&quot;<strong>…</strong> An article <a href="http://weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/015/552kbtvz.asp?pg=1">relates</a> the founders' debate over political aristocracy to skepticism about Sarah Palin's qualification for office. &quot;The issue is not whether the establishment would let … Palin cross the bar into the certified political class, but whether regular citizens of this republic have the skill and ability to control the levers of government without having first joined the certified political class.&quot;</p>
<p><strong><em> Newsweek</em></strong>, Sept. 22 The <a href="http://www.newsweek.com/id/158893">cover story</a> compares women's response to Geraldine Ferraro's vice-presidential nomination in 1984 with their reaction to Sarah Palin's two decades later. Women didn't like Ferraro; they found her threatening to their stay-at-home lives. Palin is a different story: &quot;Republican women, who have long been loath to vote for mothers of small children, are suddenly defending the right of women, or a woman, rather, to return to work three days after giving birth, and to seek higher office with five kids.&quot;<strong>…</strong> A <a href="http://www.newsweek.com/id/158764">column</a> by Fareed Zakaria compares the foreign-policy views of John McCain, who focuses on the abstract enemy of Islamic extremism, with those of Barack Obama, who focuses on specific enemies like al-Qaida. Zakaria considers Obama's view more optimistic and closer to reality: &quot;We live in remarkably peaceful times. A University of Maryland study shows that deaths from wars … are lower now than at any point in the last half century.&quot;</p>
<p><strong><em> New York</em></strong><strong>, Sept. 22<br /></strong> The <a href="http://nymag.com/news/features/50264/">cover story</a> profiles Ron Galella, the famous paparazzo whom Jackie Kennedy Onassis once restrained with a court order. &quot;His art was a corrective to the artifice of the star system. … Only by seeing someone shocked and spontaneous can you tell if their charisma is genuine.<strong>&quot; </strong> What does Galella think of today's ubiquitous amateur paparazzi? &quot;They're unskilled. It's terrible.&quot;<strong>…</strong> A <a href="http://nymag.com/news/politics/powergrid/50277">column</a> posits that &quot;Wal-Mart moms&quot;—downscale white women with weak party allegiances—will decide the presidential election. Sarah Palin's first interviews indicated she's out of her depth, but that doesn't matter if her strongest appeal is emotional. She may be the Wal-Mart moms' perfect excuse to reject Obama, to whom they weren't warming in the first place. <strong>…</strong> This week's <a href="http://nymag.com/arts/all/approvalmatrix/50224/">approval matrix</a> loves &quot;PMS Buddy,&quot; a Web site that alerts men when it's that time of the month.</p>
<p><strong><em> Atlantic</em></strong><strong>, October 2008<br /></strong> The <a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200810/mccain">cover story</a> chronicles how John McCain's involvement with past wars has shaped his understanding of the way future conflicts should be fought and won. McCain insists that he doesn't overthink Vietnam, but close friends say it is always on his mind. He believes his detailed knowledge of failed strategy in Vietnam can prevent the same mistakes from happening in Iraq. McCain doubts the United States will ever fight another war in which victory is clear-cut, but national defense and American honor, which he sees as inseparable, is the one realm in which he is truly &quot;unbending.&quot;<strong>…</strong> An <a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200810/adultery-porn">essay</a> by Ross Douthat cautiously argues that the immediacy of modern pornography has made the experience &quot;much closer to adultery than … most porn users would like to admit.&quot; Porn isn't the society-eroding disease its loudest critics claim, but it is something we should consider before trading our sense of decency for &quot;sophistication.&quot;</p>Tue, 16 Sep 2008 19:14:00 GMThttp://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/other_magazines/2008/09/fishing_with_dick.htmlDavid Sessions2008-09-16T19:14:00ZThe Weekly Standard challenges Cheney to a fly-fishing contest.News and PoliticsWhat's new in The New Yorker, Newsweek, and the Atlantic.2200250David SessionsOther Magazineshttp://www.slate.com/id/2200250falsefalsefalseMother of All Stormshttp://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/todays_papers/2008/08/mother_of_all_storms.html
<p>Three years to the weekend of Hurricane Katrina's 2005 landfall, New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin ordered another complete evacuation, this time in the wake of Hurricane Gustav. All the papers lead with the approaching &quot;mother of all storms,&quot; as the mayor characterized it Saturday. The <em> <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/pages/todayspaper/index.html">New York Times</a></em> notes Nagin's slightly overdramatic order, <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/31/us/31orleans.html">wondering</a> if he &quot;may have been exaggerating in order to shock jaded residents into taking prudent steps.&quot; The lede of the <em> <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/print/index.html">Washington Post</a></em>'s story <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/08/30/AR2008083000547.html">focuses</a> on the storm's increasing direness, reporting that Gustav has &quot;swelled from an already deadly tropical storm into a monster depression with winds of more than 150 mph.&quot; The <em> <a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/front/">Los Angeles Times</a></em>is the only paper&nbsp;to <a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/front/la-na-gustav31-2008aug31,0,1820218.story">serve up</a> &nbsp;Nagin's more colorful admonition. &quot;You need to be getting your butts moving out of New Orleans now,&quot; he told his population last night.</p>
<p>The preponderance of the&nbsp;New Orleans residents quoted in all three papers aren't waiting to see if Gustav is the next Katrina—they'd &quot;rather play it safe than sorry, because&nbsp;we know what sorry feels like,&quot; as one told the <em>NYT</em>.&nbsp;New Orleans has established 17 collection points across the city from which residents will be bused to the central Union Passenger terminal, and from there &quot;to cities in north Louisiana and to Memphis,&quot; the <em>NYT </em>reports. According to the <em>WP</em>, Mayor Nagin said that 50 percent of the city&nbsp;had been&nbsp;evacuated by Saturday evening, and all lanes of traffic on major highways will be directed away from the city by Sunday morning. The National Hurricane Center, the <em>LAT </em>reports, calls Gustav &quot;extremely dangerous,&quot; though no one is exactly sure how much New Orleans will be affected.</p>
<p>The&nbsp;papers all focus on Gustav's impact on the Republican National Convention, which is slated for this week. In a separate <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/08/30/AR2008083001207.html">front-page story</a>, the <em>Post </em>reports that Republican officials are &quot;worried that televised images of a lavish celebration would provide a jarring contrast to scenes of disaster and mass evacuations.&quot; Republican governors of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas have cancelled their plans to attend the convention, and President Bush is considering canceling his Monday evening speech. Party officials are monitoring the storm closely in case the convention's schedule or message needs to be altered, the <em>WP </em>reports.</p>
<p>Elsewhere on the front pages, it's Day 3 of press domination for John McCain's new running mate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin. In the <em>WP </em>Style section, media columnist Howard Kurtz <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/08/29/AR2008082903459.html">marvels</a> at the way McCain &quot;hijacked the media spotlight.&quot; Judging by today's front-page coverage, he's right to do so.</p>
<p>An A1 <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/31/us/politics/31campaign.html"><em>NYT </em>story</a> watches the campaigns &quot;shift&quot; as McCain's pick—a surprise to &quot;everyone but his inner circle&quot;—substantially alters the race. The Obama campaign had only prepared to attack both Mitt Romney and Tim Pawlenty, whom they considered McCain's most likely choices, and is hastily strategizing on how best to deal with Palin, a 44-year-old mother of five. Rather than attack her directly, Obama is &quot;planning to increase its attacks on Mr. McCain for his opposition to pay equity legislation and abortion rights—two issues of paramount concern to many women.&quot;</p>
<p>A front-page <em>WP</em> <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/08/30/AR2008083002377.html">story</a> digs into McCain's selection process, revealing that Palin made an early strong impression in February 2007, when she and McCain first met at the National Governors Association meeting in Washington. McCain reportedly found her &quot;directness and knowledge&quot; impressive, and, according to one adviser, &quot; looked at her like a kindred spirit ... Someone who wasn't afraid to take tough positions.&quot; </p>
<p>A <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/08/30/AR2008083002366.html">second A1 piece</a> in the <em>WP </em>investigates the family conflict that is rumored to possibly threaten Palin's candidacy—a charge that she abused her power as governor to have her brother-in-law removed from Alaska's police force. The few salacious details from the story reveal that Palin's brother-in-law was an abusive &quot;bully,&quot; who physically threatened members of Palin's family and otherwise disgraced his position as a law enforcement officer. Proof has thus far not been found to suggest Palin acted inappropriately, but a report from the Alaska legislature, due in October, could possibly reveal damning information. </p>
<p>A sprawling <a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/front/la-na-palin31-2008aug31,0,1652317.story">front-page profile</a> in the <em>LAT </em>contains some of the sharpest criticism of Palin in the papers today—former political associates and opponents say she &quot;piggybacks&quot; on Democrats' successes in the Alaska legislature, ignores the &quot;unglamorous&quot; side of government, focuses too much on oil and gas, and is, in general, &quot;a policy lightweight.&quot; The piece also notes her personal similarities with John McCain, including her willingness to work across the party aisle. </p>
<p>Yet <em>another </em>front-page Sarah Palin <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/31/us/politics/31women.html">article</a> in the <em>NYT</em> is a bit of a nonstory: It collects quotes from a handful of female voters and concludes that Republican women are excited about the energy Palin adds to their ticket while former supporters of Hillary Clinton cannot accept her strong stance against abortion and her support for the war in Iraq. Much more interesting is a <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/31/us/politics/31alaska.html?ref=todayspaper">story</a> you'll find deeper in the <em>Times</em>' A section on Alaskans squinting in the sudden media spotlight that has been cast their state. &quot;There is a sense among many Alaskans that the rest of the country might wind up not understanding their state, or worse—discovering how beautiful Alaska is and moving here,&quot; the piece reports.</p>
<p>And just in case you need a break from the Palin coverage, try the <em>NYT</em>'s amusing <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/31/us/politics/31stpaul.htm">report</a> from St. Paul, Minn., where residents are miffed that their city, the actual&nbsp;location of this week's Republican National Convention, isn't getting top billing. The convention is being promoted as &quot;Minneapolis-St. Paul,&quot; even though the smaller of the Twin Cities is doing the hosting and thinks it's a better place anyway. Says one resident, St. Paul's 73-year old poet laureate: &quot;The convention is in St. Paul ...&nbsp;I think it's dopey to say anything else,&nbsp;just dopey.&quot;</p>Sun, 31 Aug 2008 07:12:00 GMThttp://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/todays_papers/2008/08/mother_of_all_storms.htmlDavid Sessions2008-08-31T07:12:00ZNews and PoliticsThe papers on the second great exodus from New Orleans.2199026David SessionsToday's Papershttp://www.slate.com/id/2199026falsefalsefalseThe Deportedhttp://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/todays_papers/2008/08/the_deported.html
<p>The <em> <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/pages/todayspaper/index.html">New York Times</a></em> leads with American hospitals engaging in their <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/03/us/03deport.html">own form of deportation</a>—sending injured illegal immigrants back to their homelands because no American health care provider will accept uninsured aliens. The <em> <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/print/index.html">Washington Post</a></em>leads with <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/08/02/AR2008080201632.html?sid=ST2008080201962&amp;pos=">doubts about Bruce Ivins</a>, the scientist who killed himself this week before being indicted by the FBI in an investigation of the 2001 anthrax attacks. Friends and colleagues describe Ivins as a content man without the means or motive to carry out deadly chemical attacks. Online, the <em> <a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/front/">Los Angeles Times</a></em>leads with another installment of its 2008 Summer Olympics countdown, a <a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/front/la-fg-beijingborn3-2008aug03,0,4279605,print.story">personal essay</a> by an <em>LAT </em>correspondent who was born in Beijing.</p>
<p>The &quot;apparently widespread&quot; practice of hospitals repatriating seriously injured or ill immigrants represents &quot;the collision of two deeply flawed American systems, immigration and health care,&quot; the <em>NYT</em>'s 6,000-word lead story<em></em>reports. The deportations are entirely private, as &quot;American immigration authorities play no role,&quot; and are often the conclusion to a string of events that has cost a hospital millions of dollars. Most of the lengthy piece narrates the tragic story of a Guatemalan immigrant who, after being maimed in a collision with a drunk driver, was eventually returned to the remote village where only his elderly mother now cares for him.</p>
<p>The FBI anthrax probe could be shuttered as early as tomorrow, the <em>WP </em>reports, which would &quot;amount to a strong signal that the FBI and Justice Department think they got their man—and that he is dead, foreclosing the possibility of a prosecution.&quot; Colleagues and former acquaintances are sharply divided on that question: One argues that Ivins worked with anthrax daily and could have easily removed it from his lab without detection; another does not think anyone at USAMRIID would have &quot;the foggiest idea&quot; how to make powdered anthrax. Ivins' former therapist, a Frederick, Md., social worker, petitioned for court protection because of her suspicions that Ivins was a revenge killer who had previously attempted murder. The <em>NYT</em> takes the analytical road, <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/03/us/03anthrax.html?ref=todayspaper">wondering</a> if the military's increase in biological counterterrorism has given more people access to deadly chemical weapons. </p>
<p>The <em> <a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/science/la-sci-aids3-2008aug03,0,1776543,print.story">LAT</a></em>and <em> <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/03/health/03aids.html?ref=todayspaper">NYT</a></em>front news that federal officials have underestimated the number of HIV infections in the United States by 40 percent&nbsp;for almost a decade. New technologies have provided more accurate readings, leading the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to up the annual number of infections from 40,000 to around 53,000. The epidemic is not growing, as that figure has been constant for the entire last decade that numbers have been underestimated. The <em>LAT </em>notes that the higher estimates are &quot;a jarring reminder that the United States, while castigating prevention efforts in much of the world, has not been able to get a firm grip on its own problems.&quot; </p>
<p>The <em>LAT </em>has this week's Sunday-paper must-read, an autobiographical <a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/front/la-fg-beijingborn3-2008aug03,0,4279605,print.story">essay</a> by <em>Times </em>reporter Ching-Chang Ni that begins, &quot;I was born in a Beijing that has vanished.&quot; Ni returned to her homeland in 2000, after 20 years in the United States, and found it unrecognizable: &quot;While I was gone, China had morphed from a closed communist society with few material comforts into a market-driven economy in which anything seems possible, and purchasable.&quot; At the 2008 Summer Olympics, the globe will look primarily upon the sheen of that recent progress—&quot;the world will see the country in all its glory, with as much of the dark side tucked away as possible.&quot; As Ni leaves China, this time with her husband and two small children, she can't assure their country will be the same when they return. All she will promise,&nbsp;Ni writes, is that they <em>will </em>return: &quot;The only thing I can tell them for sure is that we are not leaving Daddy behind and we will not be gone forever.&quot;</p>
<p>The <em>NYT</em> fronts a report on the <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/03/science/earth/03jellyfish.html">rapid multiplication of jellyfish</a> in coastal waters around the world, a phenomenon some scientists attribute to climate change, overfishing, and pollution. Designed to thrive in &quot;damaged&quot; environments, jellyfish often survive pollution and breed rapidly in the warmer waters. The problem has mostly been noticed on the shore as a result of closed beaches and clogged nets, but could be the symptom of deeper issues in the world's oceans. </p>
<p>A <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/08/02/AR2008080201674.html?sid=ST2008080300023&amp;pos=">front-page piece</a> in the <em>WP </em>follows Bill Clinton's &quot;return to ambassador role,&quot; as the headline reads, after the end of Hillary's presidential campaign. There's remarkably little to take away from his &quot;first extended interview since his wife exited the campaign in defeat&quot;—Clinton refuses to discuss his own blunders on the campaign trail and does not have any unusual advice for the Obama campaign. Much more entertaining is a <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/graphic/2008/08/01/GR2008080102726.html">visual comparison</a> in the <em>Post</em>'s Style section of word clouds generated by Barack Obama's and John McCain's campaign blogs. </p>
<p>Compiling the complaints of annoyed New Yorkers, the <em>NYT </em>Arts &amp; Leisure section constructs a piece on the city's <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/03/fashion/03tourists.html?pagewanted=2&amp;ref=todayspaper">summer European invasion</a>, which makes many Manhattanites feel like members of an endangered species. Europeans, lured by New York's concentration of chic and the weakness of the U.S. dollar, are crowding the city's upscale boutiques and trendy restaurants to spend with reckless abandon—as if New York were &quot;the Wal-Mart of hip.&quot; </p>Sun, 03 Aug 2008 09:03:00 GMThttp://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/todays_papers/2008/08/the_deported.htmlDavid Sessions2008-08-03T09:03:00ZNews and PoliticsThe New York Times&nbsp;reports on&nbsp;American hospitals' private deportations.2196594David SessionsToday's Papershttp://www.slate.com/id/2196594falsefalsefalseA Drop in the Buckethttp://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/todays_papers/2008/07/a_drop_in_the_bucket.html
<p>The <em> <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/print/index.html">Washington Post</a></em> leads with <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/26/AR2008072601071.html">economists' doubts</a> that the &quot;sprawling&quot; housing bill currently headed for President Bush's desk will do much to soften the crunch. The bill makes the front page in all three papers, but the Middle East also gets plenty of face time: The <em> <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/pages/todayspaper/index.html">New York Times</a></em>leads with the &quot;<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/27/world/middleeast/27mahdi.html">profound weakening</a>&quot; of the Mahdi Army, Iraq's Shiite milita, &quot;in an important, if tentative, milestone for stability in Iraq.&quot; The <em> <a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/front/"><em>Los <a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/front/">Angeles Times</a></em></a></em>turns the spotlight on the war on terror in Pakistan, leading with a <a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/front/la-fg-uspakistan27-2008jul27,0,4476217.story">grim portrait</a> of &quot;a counter-terrorism campaign ... that has lost momentum and is beset by frustration.&quot; </p>
<p>The Democrat-sponsored housing bill received 72-13 Senate approval in a rare Saturday session, giving the Treasury Department sweeping authority to prop up the country's two largest mortgage finance companies and potentially costing the government billions of dollars. &quot;The bill raises the national debt ceiling to $10.6 trillion … the first time that the limit on the government's credit card has grown to 14 digits,&quot; the <em>NYT </em> <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/27/washington/27housing.html">reports</a>. Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C., mentioned in both stories, told the <em>WP </em>that that the Treasury's new authority &quot;crosses the line into socialism&quot;;&nbsp;John McCain and Barack Obama both support the bill.&nbsp;The <em>Post</em>'s economist sources say that the end of the crunch won't come nearly as fast as the bill's passing. In fact, one says,&nbsp;the 400,000 households the bill hopes to assist are &quot;a drop in the bucket.&quot;</p>
<p>The <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/27/world/middleeast/27mahdi.html">Mahdi Army's decline</a> is &quot;part of a general decline in violence that is resonating in American as well as Iraqi politics,&quot; the <em>NYT </em>reports. The anti-American fighters were the primary defenders of poor Shiites in Iraq, but the miltia's violent tactics weakened its appeal &quot;to the point that many quietly supported American military sweeps against the group.&quot; The army formerly held large portions of Baghdad but was forced back by Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki's military operation this spring. The weakening is a victory for Iraq's government and particularly for the prime minister, who is increasingly seen as a legitimate national leader.&nbsp;Seventeen Iraqis in formerly milita-controlled areas, each interviewed by the <em>Times</em>, say the group's grip on the local economy has slowly &quot;ebbed&quot;—cooking gas, for example, now costs less than a fifth of its former price under the Mahid Army. </p>
<p>If that's the good news, the <a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/front/la-fg-uspakistan27-2008jul27,0,4476217.story"><em>LAT </em>has the bad</a>: CIA operations against al-Qaida fighters in Pakistan are all but fruitless. &quot;Dozens of interviews&quot; with (anonymous) senior security officials give a bleak picture of the CIA's attempts to straddle an uneasy dichotomy in Pakistan, a nation that is by turns an ally and a threat. In the current state of affairs, officers are &quot;confined largely to a collection of crumbling bases in northwestern Pakistan. Most are on remote Pakistani military outposts, where they are kept on a short leash under an awkward arrangement with their hosts—rarely allowed to leave and often left with little to do but plead with their Pakistani counterparts to act.&quot; The piece is filled with depressing quotes from CIA officials, such as one's observation that &quot;everyone who serves in Pakistan comes back frustrated.&quot; The only thing that might change the agency's approach? &quot;Another attack on the homeland,&quot;&nbsp;a high-ranking counter-terrorism official says. </p>
<p>The war on terror shares front-page real estate with Barack Obama, whose recent world tour gets A1 analysis in both the <em>WP </em>and the <em>LAT</em>. The <em>Post </em> <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/26/AR2008072601972.html">wonders</a> if the trip, widely considered a success, will have any real payoff for Obama. The candidate himself openly told the paper he hoped it would have an impressionistic effect on voters later in the game: &quot;Hopefully, it gives voters a sense that I can in fact—and do—operate effectively on the international stage,&quot; Obama said. &quot;That may not be decisive for the average voter right now, given our economic troubles, but it's knowledge they can store in the back of their minds for when they go into the polling place later.&quot; The <a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/front/la-na-obamatrip27-2008jul27,0,2295108.story"><em>LAT </em>piece</a> quotes Obama strategist David Axelrod, speaking with a remarkable frankness about the theater aspect of the trip (&quot;Any campaign, in part, is about whether people can picture a candidate in that role&quot;). The <em>Times </em>also notes that a Thursday Fox News poll shows Obama slipping to within a &quot;statistically insignificant&quot; margin over John McCain. </p>
<p>A column by <em>WP </em>ombudsman Deborah Howell <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/25/AR2008072502758.html">examines reader reactions</a> to the paper's 13-part series on the unsolved murder of D.C. intern Chandra Levy. &quot;All but two&quot; readers who called or wrote were critical of the series that, in one's phrasing, &quot;pushe[d] real news off the front page for 13 days.&quot; One reader who did like the series compliments the appeal of serial reading, adding to the anticipation of opening the morning paper. Howell ultimately sides with the majority, concluding that &quot;to me, the project wasn't worth 13 days, all on Page 1, and the new information wasn't highlighted sufficiently.&quot;</p>
<p>A piece in the <em>NYT</em>'s Arts &amp; Leisure section <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/27/arts/music/27brow.html?ref=todayspaper">eulogizes</a> album packaging and liner notes, which are increasingly scarce in the digital music age. &quot;Scanning the small-print data crammed into album packaging can be tremendous fun, revealing aspects of an artist not always evident in the music,&quot; the pieces muses, amid quotes from various experts who don't seem too worried about the disappearance of physical liner notes. The best part about album booklets?&nbsp; They &quot;are the domain of too-much-information moments,&quot; like when Gwen Stefani told her husband, in her latest album's credits, &quot;I still want you all over me.&quot;</p>Sun, 27 Jul 2008 08:32:00 GMThttp://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/todays_papers/2008/07/a_drop_in_the_bucket.htmlDavid Sessions2008-07-27T08:32:00ZNews and PoliticsThe papers on the housing bill, mid-East war and peace, and Obama's world tour.2196169David SessionsToday's Papershttp://www.slate.com/id/2196169falsefalsefalseShowdown in Peshawarhttp://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/todays_papers/2008/06/showdown_in_peshawar.html
<p>The <em> <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/print/index.html">Washington Post</a></em>&nbsp;leads with&nbsp;the Pakistani military <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/06/28/AR2008062800409.html">moving into Peshawar</a>, a northern city about 30 miles from Afghanistan, to counteract an impending attack by the Taliban and other Islamist fighters. The <em> <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/pages/todayspaper/index.html">New York Times</a></em>leads with a <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/29/washington/29army.html">sweeping Army self-study</a> that identifies a number of problems contributing to the difficulty U.S. forces have faced in stabilizing Iraq since 2003. The <em> <a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/front/la-na-mccain29-2008jun29,0,3612678.story">Los Angeles Times</a></em>leads with an analysis of Sen. <a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/front/la-na-mccain29-2008jun29,0,3612678.story">John McCain's campaign stops</a>. This week, McCain has been to … Canada? Mexico?</p>
<p>Clouds of violence are gathering along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, the <em>WP</em> reports, as the Pakistani military lines up to face the Taliban in Peshawar. The United States has been urging Pakistan to take a stronger approach toward insurgents, though Islamabad has carefully avoided a full-on confrontation until now. Fighting along the border has intensified this month, with more than 30 NATO soldiers being killed in Afghanistan and several mutilated or beheaded. The new force Pakistan is showing in Peshawar &quot;may signal a strategic shift in the country's struggle to quell extremist activity.&quot; The <em>NYT </em> <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/29/world/asia/29pstan.html?ref=todayspaper">reports</a> that Pakistani soldiers &quot;shelled territory outside Peshawar held by an extremist leader. Army forces were not used, and the intent apparently was merely to push the militants back from the city's perimeter.&quot;</p>
<p>A new Army study titled &quot;On Point II: Transition to the New Campaign&quot; presents the results of 200 interviews in nearly 700 pages, including &quot;long quotations&quot; from military officers, according to the <em>NYT</em>. Its authors were &quot;instructed not to shy away from controversy while withholding a final verdict on whether senior officials had made mistakes that decisively altered the course of the war.&quot; The problems diagnosed center around poor planning and misguided reactions to unanticipated problems—the Army, for example, assumed most of Iraq's ministries would continue operating after the fall of Saddam Hussein and reduced its forces too much too soon.</p>
<p>The <em>LAT</em>'s lead story wonders if Sen. John McCain's unorthodox campaigning—traveling to foreign cities to underscore his foreign-policy image at a time Americans are most concerned with the economy—might actually be his best option. McCain seems to hope that being seen with foreign leaders will heighten the country's impression that he is a strong, presidential leader who takes national security seriously. But the lessons of previous Republican campaigns (Nixon in 1960, George H.W. Bush in 1992) remind us&nbsp;that banking on an issue voters don't care about is a recipe for disaster. Maybe this time, &quot;given voters' contempt for Washington, the Republican Party and the incumbent president, it might be McCain's best chance of winning.&quot; </p>
<p>The <em>NYT</em> and <em>W</em>P front a pair of Supreme Court term analyses, both addressing the crucial new role of Justice Anthony Kennedy as the court's often-deciding swing vote. The <em>NYT</em> <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/29/washington/29scotus.html?ref=todayspaper">fleshes out</a> a theme that both pieces mention—the unclassifiable nature of the past term—saying that the court &quot;left a complicated and to some extent blurred imprint.&quot; The <em>WP</em> <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/06/28/AR2008062802078.html">predicts</a> the rather drastic role a John McCain presidency could have in moving the court to the right, as the justices most likely to retire are on the liberal end of the spectrum. Obama would likely nominate similar-minded individuals, but conservative replacements nominated by Sen. McCain would change the high court's political makeup for the next several decades. </p>
<p>In an Olympic season already riddled with controversy, the <em>LAT </em> <a href="http://www.latimes.com/sports/printedition/la-sp-olymex29-2008jun29,0,4189869.story">uncovers</a> one more: Mexican-American athletes who have decided to compete for the country of their ancestry rather than the one that helped them into the international spotlight. Giovanni Lanaro, the world's sixth-ranked pole vaulter, who was born in Los Angeles and attended California&nbsp;State University,&nbsp;Fullerton, says he &quot;will always compete for Mexico&quot; and would &quot;never compete for any other country.&quot; (His mother was born there.) The <em>LAT </em>reports that this crossing over is a &quot;growing practice&quot; of athletes among&nbsp;the United States' 28 million Mexican-Americans. The practice is legal for both Mexicans and Americans under each nation's Olympic rules, but understandably doesn't please many north of the border.</p>
<p>In the <em>WP </em>Style section, a former <em>Vogue </em>employee <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/06/26/AR2008062603247.html">briefly profiles</a> the magazine and its famous editor, Anna Wintour, who may be the only editor widely known to people who have never seen a copy of her magazine. Wintour has been in charge of the leading women's style magazine for 20 years today, an occasion she will mark by doing &quot;… nothing.&quot; As most of the nation now knows, thanks to a certain film that wrung comedy from her infamous fastidiousness, Wintour has spent the last two decades becoming a cultural icon—mysterious, glamorous, and never politically correct.</p>Sun, 29 Jun 2008 12:04:00 GMThttp://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/todays_papers/2008/06/showdown_in_peshawar.htmlDavid Sessions2008-06-29T12:04:00ZA summary of what's in the major U.S.&nbsp;newspapers.News and PoliticsThe&nbsp;papers report&nbsp;an impending showdown between Pakistan and the Taliban.2194508David SessionsToday's Papershttp://www.slate.com/id/2194508falsefalsefalseTelling Secretshttp://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/todays_papers/2008/06/telling_secrets.html
<p>The <em> <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/print/index.html">Washington Post</a></em> leads with a <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/06/14/AR2008061402032.html">former U.N. arms inspector's report</a> that an international ring of smugglers obtained blueprints for an advanced nuclear weapon and may have shared them with a number of rogue states. The plans&nbsp;could significantly aid nations like Iran and North Korea in adding nuclear elements to their ballistic weaponry. The <em> <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/pages/todayspaper/index.html">New York Times</a></em> leads with a <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/15/us/politics/15pows.html?ref=todayspaper">1974 foreign policy essay</a> written for the National War College&nbsp;by Sen. John McCain, the&nbsp;presumptive Republican nominee for president. The essay, which discusses the reasons some American prisoners succumbed to enemy pressure during the Vietnam War, reveals a long-standing irritation with the American government for failing to educate the public about crucial aspects of foreign policy. The <em>Los Angeles Times </em>fronts, at least online, some <a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/front/la-me-gaymarriage15-2008jun15,0,7480507.story?page=1">gay couples' doubts</a> about rushing to the courthouse for a marriage license when they become available in California this week. </p>
<p>The <em>NYT</em>'s<em></em>smuggler ring lede is a bit less ominous than the Post's, <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/15/world/asia/15nuke.html?ref=todayspaper">noting simply</a> that the nuclear blueprints were discovered on&nbsp;a computer&nbsp;belonging to&nbsp;rogue Pakistani scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan but that investigators &quot;have not been able to determine whether they were sold to Iran or the smuggling ring's other customers.&quot; The <em>Times </em>also curiously reports that some of the blueprint's details appear in the Sunday <em>Washington Post</em>, but the <em>WP</em>'s &quot;details&quot; are&nbsp;few and far between. The <em>WP </em>divulges only that the plans included both instructions for building a &quot;compact nuclear device&quot; that could be fitted to the sort of ballistic missile used by Iran and for a second, more complex nuclear weapon.</p>
<p>In a 1974 paper obtained by the <em>NYT</em>, Sen. McCain wrote, as <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/15/us/politics/15pows.html?ref=todayspaper">summarized by the paper</a>, that &quot;Americans captured after 1968 had proven to be more susceptible to North Vietnamese pressure, because they had been exposed to the divisive forces which had come into focus as a result of the antiwar movement in the United States.&quot; McCain recommended more education to ensure that soldiers thoroughly understood and supported U.S. policy—an approach that, while certain to draw criticism, might solidify a soldier's resolve in crucial encounters with enemy forces. The essay also sheds light on other aspects of McCain's political psyche, including his habit of averting conflict by making peace with former enemies. Reporter David D. Kirkpatrick backs up his lengthy piece with gripping details from McCain's war history, interspersed with commentary from the senator himself. </p>
<p>Strikingly similar stories on gay couples' increasingly mixed feelings about legal marriage appear on the front pages of the <em>NYT</em> and the <em>LAT</em>. The <em>NYT</em> <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/15/us/15marriage.html?ref=todayspaper&amp;pagewanted=all">focuses on</a> the four years since Massachusetts legalized homosexual marriage in 2004, noting that the number of marriages has dropped every year. Some have ended in divorce, while others, facing the new world of dilemmas that legal marriage presents, are hesitant to take vows in the first place. The <em>LAT </em> <a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/front/la-me-gaymarriage15-2008jun15,0,7480507.story?page=1">notices similar cold feet</a> in California, except this time it's before the ruling even takes effect (marriage licenses for same-sex couples are officially available in the Golden State on Tuesday). Both pieces are heavy on anecdotes and psychology, though the <em>NYT </em>provides some interesting census statistics on the ages&nbsp;and&nbsp;male/female ratios of same-sex couples in Massachusetts.</p>
<p>A front-page <em>WP </em>story charts the rapid rise of <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/06/14/AR2008061401869.html">single-gender public-school classrooms</a>, an experiment that many believe will help eliminate&nbsp;some of the&nbsp;chronic problems facing public education. &quot;The approach is based on the much-debated yet increasingly popular notion that girls and boys are hard-wired to learn differently and that they will be more successful if classes are designed for their particular needs,&quot; the story explains.&nbsp;Since most public schools trying gender segregation are still in experimental phase, there is little hard evidence to suggest that the approach will be as revolutionary as some educators hope; parents, however, seem to be overwhelmingly receptive to the idea.</p>
<p>The <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/06/14/AR2008061401479_pf.html">first installment</a> of a <em>WP</em> series puts faces on the credit crisis, using the stories of multiple players in the subprime mortgage saga to chronicle its rise and fall.&nbsp;Part 1&nbsp;(the others will follow Monday and Tuesday) deals in timelines and back story, delivering more narrative than analysis. The nutshell: The housing bubble that began in the mid-'90s was &quot;a way to harness the inventiveness of the capitalist system to give low-income families, minorities and immigrants a chance to own their homes. But it also is a classic story of boom, excess and bust, of homeowners, speculators and Wall Street dealmakers happy to ride the wave of easy money even though many knew a crash was inevitable.&quot;</p>
<p>An <a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/opinion/la-op-widmer15-2008jun15,0,456646.story">op-ed</a> by former Clinton speechwriter Ted Widmer in the <em>LAT</em> insists that &quot;America isn't over,&quot; responding to announcements that we live in a &quot;post-American world.&quot; Widmer notes the array of popular books trumpeting the rise of Brazil, Russia, India, and China and argues that &quot;to just throw in the towel, as so many of these new books seem to do, seems a little un-American. It also ignores a mother lode of history that points to the opposite conclusion.&quot;</p>
<p>A touching <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/15/nyregion/15towns.html?ref=todayspaper">tribute to fatherhood</a> appears deep in the <em>NYT</em>'s A Section, as writer Peter Applebome affectionately recalls his three fathers—&quot;my own and two neighbors who had enough left over after dealing with their own kids to feel like dads to us as well.&quot; </p>Sun, 15 Jun 2008 11:04:00 GMThttp://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/todays_papers/2008/06/telling_secrets.htmlDavid Sessions2008-06-15T11:04:00ZNews and PoliticsThe papers on a smuggling ring that may have divulged nuclear designs to rogue states.2193671David SessionsToday's Papershttp://www.slate.com/id/2193671falsefalsefalseThe Great Fall of Chinahttp://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/todays_papers/2008/05/the_great_fall_of_china.html
<p>The <em> <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/pages/todayspaper/index.html">New York Times</a></em>leads with <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/25/world/asia/25schools.html?ref=todayspaper">Chinese parents' concerns</a> that badly built, uninspected schools resulted in the unnecessary deaths of thousands of their children in the earthquake that shook&nbsp;China's Sichuan Province two weeks ago. The <em> <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/print/index.html">Washington Post</a></em>leads with <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/24/AR2008052401973.html">another story</a> about dangerous buildings killing kids: Trailers used by FEMA to house Hurricane Katrina victims contained high levels of formaldehyde, a cancer-causing chemical found in the low-quality wood used to build the trailers quickly. The <em> <a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/front/">Los Angeles Times</a></em>leads with an &quot;upending&quot; of the American economy—<a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/front/la-fi-economy25-2008may25,0,2399717.story">a boom for industries</a> that were previously believed to be fading, even as the technology and finance sectors face large-scale layoffs. </p>
<p>Schools in the Sichuan Province seemed to have borne a disproportionate amount of the destruction in the earthquake that rocked China earlier this month, the <em>NYT </em>reports in a <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/25/world/asia/25schools.html?ref=todayspaper">massive piece</a> that gets most of the paper's front-page real estate. Examining the decimated Xinjian Primary School in Dujiangyang, the article notes that the&nbsp;buildings surrounding the school&nbsp;were by comparison&nbsp;relatively unharmed. Turns out, the school had a long history of poor construction—parents, many of whom worked at a nearby cement factory, knew that Xinjian was unsafe when it opened, and&nbsp;a wing&nbsp;of the school was demolished in 1992 because it was so far below standards.&nbsp;A team of structural engineers and &quot;earthquake experts&quot; was asked by the <em>NYT </em>to examine detailed photos of the destruction, and &quot;concluded, independently, that inadequate steel reinforcement, or rebar, was used in the concrete columns supporting the school. They also found that the school's precast, hollow concrete slab floors and walls did not appear to be securely joined together.&quot; The 7.9-scale quake was vicious enough to damage even well-built structures, but schools, affected by lack of funding and the Chinese government's helter-skelter building-code enforcements, paid an especially high price. Parents of the dead students are beginning to stage demonstrations and demand that the government be held responsible for the carnage.</p>
<p>FEMA officials ordered $2.7 billion worth of mobile housing for the victims of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/24/AR2008052401973.html">the <em>WP </em>reports</a>, &quot;many of them using a single page of specifications.&quot; The 25 lines of specifications made no mention of safety requirements, and the trailers, which were supplied at an unusual speed, led to a public health crisis affecting as many as 300,000 people. Dangerously high levels of formaldehyde, a cancer-causing chemical present in some of the trailers' wood, led to severe illness and several deaths among the flood victims. Many of the injured are joining a class-action lawsuit against the trailer makers and the federal government. &quot;Weak government contracting, sloppy private construction, a surge of low-quality wood imports from China and inconsistent regulation all contributed to the crisis,&quot; the piece summarizes, further noting that the situation is now one colossal government blame game, the cost of which &quot;will not be known for years.&quot;</p>
<p>The <em>LAT</em> leads with the &quot;twin turns&quot; of the American economy—<a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/front/la-fi-economy25-2008may25,0,2399717.story">a boom in the heartland's industrial sector</a>, spurred by global industrialization, as the financial and technologies sectors face a steady downturn. These trends are &quot;letting once-struggling behemoths such as U.S. Steel Corp. put modern marvels such as Microsoft Corp. to shame,&quot; the piece reports, noting that U.S. Steel's stock has risen 1,000 percent&nbsp;&quot;in recent years.&quot; In national economic terms, the industrial boom is only bittersweet news; it's pushing up incomes but not creating jobs. Thus, the spillover into other sectors is likely to be limited, meaning &quot;the economy as a whole will have to keep relying on high tech and services if it is to experience new growth in income and employment.&quot;</p>
<p> <a>The </a> NYT off-leads a <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/25/us/25exception.html?_r=2&amp;ref=todayspaper&amp;pagewanted=all&amp;oref=slogin&amp;oref=slogin">piece</a> about the American method of selecting judges by popular vote. Eighty-seven percent of state judges are elected, and 39 states elect at least some of their judges. The stage is set by the story of a Wisconsin judge election, in which the candidates spent $5 million on their respective campaigns and the winner ran false television advertisements before taking 51 percent of the vote. The article contrasts America's judicial votes with France's nonpartisan, &quot;much more rigorous&quot; method of testing and selecting independent judges. <a href="http://www.slate.com#Correction">*</a></p>
<p>The weekend columnists are all over Sen. Hillary Clinton's &quot;assassination gaffe,&quot; in which she referenced the 1968 assassination of Robert F. Kennedy to point out that Democratic primaries often drag into June. <em>WP</em> style reporter Libby Copeland is not amused, <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/23/AR2008052302789.html?nav=rss_print/style">writing</a> that Clinton's allusion to the murder of a candidate &quot;almost sounds like wishful thinking.&quot; The <em>NYT</em>'s Maureen Dowd is slightly more inclined to take Clinton at her word, helpfully <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/25/opinion/25dowd.html?ref=opinion">suggesting</a> that&nbsp;she simply meant to say she's staying in the race because &quot;stuff happens.&quot; </p>
<p><em><strong> <a>Correction</a>, June 13, 2008:</strong> The original version of this piece improperly accused the </em>New York Times <em>of editorializing in its story on judge selection methods and incorrectly attributed a quote from a source in the Times story to the author. (<a href="http://www.slate.com#Return">Return</a> &nbsp;to the corrected sentence.)</em></p>Sun, 25 May 2008 10:48:00 GMThttp://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/todays_papers/2008/05/the_great_fall_of_china.htmlDavid Sessions2008-05-25T10:48:00ZNews and PoliticsThe papers on dangerous buildings that&nbsp;compounded the death tolls of recent natural disasters.2192162David SessionsToday's Papershttp://www.slate.com/id/2192162falsefalsefalseHow Much Do Racehorses Pee?http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/recycled/2008/05/how_much_do_racehorses_pee.html
<p><em>Twenty racehorses will take the track at this <a href="http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5jxHRVL_LE_r6Rx8vprgmBwHUvhPQD90C9ELG0">Saturday's Kentucky Derby</a>, providing an occasion to wonder: Does a racehorse actually &quot;pee like a racehorse&quot;? David Sessions <a href="http://www.slate.com/id/2167910/">investigated</a> the matter in a 2007 &quot;Explainer.&quot; His findings are reprinted below.</em></p>
<p> The third leg of horse racing's Triple Crown takes place on Saturday, with the running of the <a href="http://www.belmont-stakes.info/">Belmont Stakes</a>. Around 60,000 fans will be watching in Elmont, N.Y., as they put down beer and the track's <a href="http://www.belmont-stakes.info/belmont-breeze.php">signature cocktails</a>. Needless to say, they'll probably be peeing as much as the racehorses. Wait, how much does a racehorse pee?</p>
<p>A lot. Horses typically produce several quarts of urine every four hours, for a total of about 1.5 to 2 gallons per day. (By contrast, an adult male human pees 1 or 2 quarts per day.) The stream, usually one-third to a half-inch in diameter, can last up to 30 seconds. In general, the larger the animal, the more it pees. A Clydesdale, for example, weighs twice as much as a Thoroughbred and produces urine in greater volume (and with a more pungent smell). An average pasture horse that spends its day grazing might also beat a racehorse in a peeing match: Pasture grass contains a lot more water than the carefully prepared grains and pellets fed to racehorses.</p>
<p>The popular notion of incontinent racehorses seems to have roots in the late 1970s, when trainers began the widespread use of diuretics like Lasix (furosemide). Lasix inhibits the absorption of sodium and draws water into the bladder. This causes the horse to excrete more fluids, which could, in theory, make a horse lighter on its feet and faster on the track. Depending on the dose, a Lasix treatment could cause a horse to move several gallons of urine within an hour, which could translate to a quick drop of 10 pounds from a horse's body weight before a race.</p>
<p>It's not against the rules to dose a racehorse with Lasix, but its use is carefully regulated and abuse will result in a penalty. (In general, you're only allowed to use the drug to prevent internal bleeding during a race. You're not supposed to use it strictly as a diuretic.) Racing officials have run drug tests on competitors since 1903, and today they take blood and urine samples before every race. At the Kentucky Derby and most other major races, competitors using Lasix are allowed to compete, but they're marked with an <em>L</em> on the programs.</p>
<p>Got a question about today's news? <a href="mailto:ask_the_explainer@yahoo.com">Ask the Explainer</a>.</p>
<p><em>Explainer thanks Sue McDonnell at the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine, Hal Schott at Michigan State University's Department of Large Animal Clinical Sciences, and Thomas Tobin at the University of Kentucky's Gluck Equine Research Center.</em></p>Thu, 01 May 2008 20:55:00 GMThttp://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/recycled/2008/05/how_much_do_racehorses_pee.htmlDavid Sessions2008-05-01T20:55:00ZHorses really do possess great powers of urination.News and PoliticsThe racehorse's extraordinary peeing power.2190408David SessionsRecycledhttp://www.slate.com/id/2190408falsefalsefalseOnward, T.V. Soldiershttp://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/todays_papers/2008/04/onward_tv_soldiers.html
<p>The <em> <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/pages/todayspaper/index.html">New York Times</a></em> leads with a <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/20/world/asia/20pstan.html">7,500-word expos&eacute;</a> of the Pentagon &quot;message machine,&quot; a concerted effort by the Department of Defense to spread the Bush administration's Iraq talking points by briefing supposedly independent retired commanders for network and cable television appearances. The <a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/front/"><em>Los Angeles Times</em></a> leads with California school districts' <a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/front/la-me-foundations20apr20,1,5136345.story">cries to parents</a> for funding in the face of sweeping budget cuts. Potential layoff notices have been handed to 20,000 teachers, librarians, and nurses, as districts ask for as much as $400 a year from each student's family. The <em> <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/print/index.html">Washington Post</a></em> leads with the growing energy consumption of the District of Columbia, which fuels the coal mining that is devouring the once-green landscape of nearby West Virginia. The <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/19/AR2008041900941_3.html?sid=ST2008041901590">largely unenlightening piece</a> shows that D.C.'s energy consumption is on the rise but fails to highlight much of a conflict beyond the concerns of isolated environmentalists and select West Virginians. More of the state's residents, it seems, see their coal-rich environment as a &quot;gift from God.&quot;</p>
<p>The <em>NYT</em> successfully sued the Department of Defense to gain access to thousands of e-mails and internal documents relating to its posse of military T.V. commentators. The 8,000 pages of information &quot;reveal a symbiotic relationship where the usual dividing lines between government and journalism have been obliterated.&quot; These &quot;military experts&quot; often communicated with the Pentagon to receive the latest agenda before going on camera, and some used the inside information to assist private companies in obtaining military contracts. More unfortunately, &quot;members of this group have echoed administration talking points, sometimes even when they suspected the information was false or inflated. Some analysts acknowledge they suppressed doubts because they feared jeopardizing their access.&quot; Several of the purported military experts express regret over their actions, while the Pentagon defends the operation as a genuine effort to inform the American people. The networks, with the sole exception of CNN, refused to comment.</p>
<p>The <em>Times</em> also fronts two war stories—first, requests <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/20/world/asia/20pstan.html">by American commanders in Pakistan</a> for expanded attacks on indigenous radicals in the country's tribal regions. The requests have been &quot;rebuffed for now&quot; amid fear that such attacks would upset delicate negotiations between Pakistan's new government and radical groups. On the Iraq front, Iraqi soldiers took control of the <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/20/world/middleeast/20iraq.html">final strongholds of cleric Muqtada al-Sadr</a> in Basra, prompting Iran's Baghdad ambassador to publicly &quot;endorse&quot; the Iraqi army's military operation in the region. The victory and ensuing calm also prompted violent, desperate words from al-Sadr, who accused his opponents of using the &quot;politics of Saddam.&quot;</p>
<p>The <em>WP</em> tops its A1 with a <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/19/AR2008041902224_2.html">study</a> of Sen. John McCain's &quot;volcanic temper,&quot; which the presumptive Republican presidential nominee explains alternately as a lifelong character flaw and as the fuel of his fire for political reform. The unflattering piece charts the infamous temper from its early days on the playgrounds of the many schools McCain attended as a child to the Senate chambers, where it often showers McCain's opponents with denigrating expletives. Like <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/02/03/AR2008020303242_pf.html">this</a><em>Post </em>piece, a string of &quot;McCain stories&quot; —in which the grievances and grudges of past colleagues are aired—forms the bulk of the story. Those who have born the brunt of McCain's fury in the past are split on how the temper might affect his presidential performance—some are now his supporters while others see his short fuse as a strong disqualifier for the Oval Office.</p>
<p>In a front-page, left-column story, the <em>NYT</em> airs the inner dialogue of Sen. Hillary Clinton's campaign about the <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/20/us/politics/20loyalty.html">erosion of support for Mrs. Clinton</a> among past friends and colleagues. The perceptive piece notes that some Democrats' decisions to defect have been politically expedient, but the erosion is also &quot;a reckoning of whether the Clintons, on balance, have been good or bad for the party.&quot; But what some see as disloyalty is, for others, a &quot;well-deserved comeuppance,&quot; a reaction to the Clintons' widely perceived one-way loyalty street. Former South Dakota Sen. Tom Daschle chalks it all up to&nbsp;&quot;Clinton fatigue,&quot; while others like Minnesota superdelegate Nancy Larson still like the Clintons too much to explain their reasons for endorsing Sen. Barack Obama.</p>
<p>The <em>LAT</em> front page reports that <a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/front/la-fg-migrant20apr20,1,2649350.story">Mexico is feeling U.S. pain</a>, as economic slowdown has stanched the flow of income from illegal immigrants back to their relatives south of the border. The number crossing into the U.S. this spring might be as low as half the usual rate. &quot;The U.S. housing downturn has dried up much of the building-related labor market, and a striking number of workers here say that, for now, they are unwilling to accept the physical and legal risks and fast-rising smugglers' fees to reach an iffy job situation on the U.S. side,&quot; the&nbsp;<em>Times</em> reports. </p>
<p>After&nbsp;an ever-so-brief&nbsp;reprieve, Facebook philosophizing is back, <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/18/AR2008041800736.html">this time</a> in the <em>WP</em> Style section. The piece expends several thousand words attempting to define &quot;true&quot; friends amid the sea of new, miscellaneous associations we now call &quot;friendships.&quot; What we mostly get, however, is perspectives from the token Facebook-story characters (the proficient college student, the&nbsp;cliquish high schooler, the late-coming adult user) and reiterations of the tired Facebook quandaries (to accept or not to accept?). And of course, there's an avalanche of new metaphors for social networking (&quot;internet cocktail party&quot; and &quot;digital eavesdropping,&quot; for example). </p>
<p>Much more worth a look is <a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/opinion/la-op-kurlansky20apr20,0,315446.story">an op-ed</a> in the <em>LAT</em> that provides evolutionary defenses for the Biblical admonition to &quot;turn the other cheek.&quot; Or on the lighter side, an amusing essay in the <em>WP </em>magazine section explores the office caste system encapsulated in an <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/16/AR2008041602655.html?tid=informbox">e-mail's recipient fields</a>.</p>Sun, 20 Apr 2008 09:33:00 GMThttp://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/todays_papers/2008/04/onward_tv_soldiers.htmlDavid Sessions2008-04-20T09:33:00ZNews and PoliticsThe New York Times exposes a multi-armed Pentagon message machine.2189545David SessionsToday's Papershttp://www.slate.com/id/2189545falsefalsefalseNo&nbsp;More Alphabet Souphttp://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/todays_papers/2008/03/nomore_alphabet_soup.html
<p>The <em> <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/pages/todayspaper/index.html">New York Times</a></em> and the <em> <a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/front/">Los Angeles Times</a></em> lead with a Treasury Department plan to grant broad new market-stabilizing powers to the Federal Reserve. The plan is part of a larger attempt to simplify the nation's &quot;alphabet soup&quot; of financial regulatory agencies<em>. </em>The<em> <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/print/index.html">Washington Post</a></em>fronts that story but leads with another Bush administration proposal—a plan to bail out homeowners struggling to pay their mortgages after the values of their homes have dramatically decreased. The proposal encourages lenders to let homeowners refinance their property for a more affordable rate, forgiving a portion of their debt in exchange for financial backing from the federal government. The <em> <a href="http://online.wsj.com/public/page/2_0433.html?mod=hpp_us_pageone_more"><em>Wall Street Journal</em></a></em> tops its world-wide newsbox with U.S. forces' launching of airstrikes in Basra, Iraq, as Iraqi forces faced a strong resistance from Shiite militias.</p>
<p>The Treasury Department's proposal comes after a year of study by Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson, <a href="http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-treasury29mar29,0,5300410.story">the <em>LAT</em> reports</a>, and would overhaul a system built piece-by-piece over the past century and a half. The plan, which requires detailed approval by Congress, would consolidate&nbsp;the current jumble&nbsp;of regulatory agencies—including the Securities and Exchange Commission—into three overseeing institutions. The <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/29/business/29regulate.html?ref=todayspaper"><em>NYT </em>predicts</a> Democrats' response, saying they'll likely complain that it does not go far enough toward limiting the activities that caused the current financial crisis. An <em>LAT</em> quote from one prominent Democrat, New York Sen. Chuck Schumer, confirms that premonition: Schumer says that Democrats agree with &quot;large parts&quot; of the proposal in &quot;broad outlines&quot; but that it does not address &quot;the full spectrum of complex new financial securities.&quot; Both <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/29/AR2008032900094.html">the <em>WP</em></a> and the <em>LAT</em> credit the <em>NYT</em> for breaking the story on its Web site late Friday. </p>
<p>The <em>WP</em> <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/28/AR2008032804017.html">leads with</a> a second Bush administration proposal addressing the credit crunch—a plan to rescue homeowners who face foreclosure because falling prices mean they now owe far more than their homes are worth. Details are still being finalized, but the administration has revealed that the plan resembles one proposed two weeks ago by Democratic&nbsp;Rep. Barney Frank (legislation&nbsp;the <em>WSJ </em> <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120675020702373407.html?mod=todays_us_page_one">says</a> has &quot;little hope of passing in its current form&quot;). Under the proposal, the Federal Housing Authority would urge lenders &quot;to forgive a portion of those loans and issue new, smaller mortgages in exchange for the financial backing of the federal government.&quot; If successful, the <em>Post</em> explains, the plan would mark the first time the White House has committed federal funds to assist individual borrowers.</p>
<p>The <em>NYT</em>, <em>WP</em>, and <em>LAT</em> all front Sen. Patrick Leahy's call for Sen. Hillary Clinton to drop out of Democratic race for president and avert a bloody nomination battle with Sen. Barack Obama. The <em>NYT</em> <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/29/us/politics/29dems.html">serves up</a> Sen. Clinton's behind-closed-doors analysis—she told Democratic allies that&nbsp;she is the girl being &quot;bullied out&quot; of the race by the rough boys. Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean set out to calm &quot;increasingly anxious&quot; Democrats, the <em>WP</em> <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/28/AR2008032803573.html?sid=ST2008032900022">reports</a>, by taking a television tour and setting a &quot;target date&quot; of July 1 for finalizing the party's nomination. (Dean was suspiciously short on details as to how the &quot;target date&quot; will be met.) The <em>LAT </em> <a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/front/la-na-campaign29mar29,1,878738.story">explains</a> the &quot;growing anxiety&quot; in the party as Sen. Clinton reaping what she sowed—a self-focused, &quot;complex and difficult&quot; relationship with fellow Democrats that is coming back to haunt her candidacy. Clinton hopes to right her campaign with victories in Pennsylvania, where she enjoys a comfortable lead in the polls.</p>
<p>U.S. forces launched airstrikes in Basra in the midst of heavy fighting between U.S. and Iraqi soldiers and Shiite militiamen, according to the <em>WSJ</em>'s world-wide newsbox. The <em>NYT</em> <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/29/world/middleeast/29iraq.html?ref=todayspaper">reports</a> that the campaign was initially handled by Iraqi security forces, who asked American forces to step in when they were unable to control the situation. <em>Washington Post</em> correspondent Sudarsan Raghavan fleshes out the day of sudden violence with a <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/28/AR2008032803810.html">sprawling report</a> from Sadr City, where he was trapped 19 hours alongside the Mahdi army of Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr. Raghavan's riveting account includes real-time interviews with Abu Mustafa al-Thahabi, a military adviser to the Mahdi army.&nbsp;Neither the <em>NYT</em>&nbsp;nor the <em>WP</em>&nbsp;can resist subtle philosophizing about what&nbsp;the pitch battles in Iraq&nbsp;&quot;underscore.&quot;</p>
<p>Spring brings baseball to <em>LAT</em>'s <a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/front/la-na-manatees29mar29,1,4282023.story">Column One</a>, which observes the early rehearsals of the Florida Marlins' new plus-sized male cheer team, the Manatees. The Miami-based team's latest attempt at fighting perennial low-attendance, the Manatees weigh in from 225 to 435 pounds, and most of them still can't dance after weeks of practices. Or maybe they're too busy making hot dog jokes and staring at the team's more traditional cheerleaders—the Mermaids—to remember the steps. The <em>LAT</em>'s humorous, understandably skeptical account is&nbsp;perhaps best captured&nbsp;by the response of one Manatee's 8-year-old daughter: &quot;Oh, daddy, <em>no</em>!&quot; </p>
<p>Elsewhere in the lighthearted Saturday copy, a <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/28/AR2008032802827.html"><em>WP </em>op-ed</a> belatedly debunks Sen. Hillary Clinton's &quot;3 a.m. Phone Call&quot; ad by providing a history of presidential slumber. The experts—including Henry Kissinger—say they can't remember any decisions that had to be made in the middle of the night, and even when presidents are woken, they can usually take the report and go back to sleep. &quot;After all, if it's the end of the world, there's nothing the president can do about it. If it isn't, it can almost always wait till breakfast.&quot;</p>Sat, 29 Mar 2008 10:10:00 GMThttp://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/todays_papers/2008/03/nomore_alphabet_soup.htmlDavid Sessions2008-03-29T10:10:00ZNews and PoliticsA&nbsp;Treasury Department plan to grant new market-stabilizing powers to the Federal Reserve.2187758David SessionsToday's Papershttp://www.slate.com/id/2187758falsefalsefalseNo Decisionhttp://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/todays_blogs/2008/02/no_decision.html
<p>Super Tuesday hardly marked the end of the trail, with Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama fighting over delegates and Mike Huckabee making a surprise showing (VP Huckabee, anyone?) in the South. </p>
<p><em>No decision</em>: Sen. Hillary Clinton and Sen. Barack Obama <a href="http://www.slate.com/id/2183819/">each emerged with Super Tuesday victories</a>. Clinton won closely contested New Jersey and delegate-rich California. But Obama took 13 states to Clinton's eight, a diverse set of victories ranging from Georgia to Connecticut. Bloggers predict the campaign won't be over soon.</p>
<p>Obama-supporting conservative <strong>Andrew Sullivan </strong> <a href="http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2008/02/the-biggest-new.html">sizes up</a> the candidates' advantages: &quot;The bottom line is that this is now a dead heat. Given Clinton's massive lead only a couple of weeks ago, that's a huge Obama gain. Clinton has the edge among super-delegates (as of now). Obama has the edge in money—a real edge, and it's building. It's still all to play for.&quot; At&nbsp;<strong>Real Clear Politics</strong>, Tom Bevan <a href="http://time-blog.com/real_clear_politics/2008/02/the_fight_thats_brewing.html">predicts</a> it could come down to two states&nbsp;that were stripped of their delegates for staging early primaries: &quot;If … neither Clinton nor Obama are able to reach the magic number of delegates, then we're going to circle back for a really nasty fight over Michigan and Florida.&quot;</p>
<p>On <strong><em>Slate</em></strong>'s <strong>XX Factor</strong>, Hanna Rosin <a href="http://slate.com/blogs/blogs/xxfactor/archive/2008/02/06/where-s-the-hate.aspx">reacts</a> to Clinton's success in Southern states: &quot;Here's what's confusing me about last night's results. I have been operating under the assumption that vast swaths of red America hate Hillary. But she won in Tennessee and Oklahoma. She won among less-educated white men. She cleaned up with women. That, combined with that Barna study … saying born-agains prefer Hillary to all other candidates. Is Hillary hatred no more?&quot;</p>
<p>Hillary hatred is alive and kicking at evangelical <strong>World on the Web</strong>, where African-American blogger Anthony Bradley <a href="http://www.worldontheweb.com/2008/02/06/what-an-obamanation/">writes</a>: &quot;Hillary's huge loss in Georgia, where the Democratic base is largely black, sends the Clintons a strong message: Many black Democrats don't like you after all.&quot; <em>The Nation</em>'s <strong>Ari Berman </strong> <a href="http://www.thenation.com/blogs/campaignmatters?pid=281038">gives the overall win</a> to Obama: &quot;If this contest really hinges on that elusive prognostication of 'electability,' score Super Tuesday for Obama. He won in blue areas, red areas and purple areas. He competed in places where Democrats dare not normally roam, like Idaho, notched impressive victories in swing territories such as Colorado and Missouri, and exceeded even his own expectations in the South.&quot; </p>
<p>Paul Mirengoff at conservative <strong>Power Line</strong> has the most fascinating <a href="http://www.powerlineblog.com/archives2/2008/02/019732.php">scenario</a> for the Democratic race: &quot;This outcome strongly reinforces the conventional wisdom that 'super-delegates' will determine whether the Dems nominate Clinton or Obama. … But the empowerment of the super-delegates may also present the Democrats with an opportunity. To the extent that the super-delegates wish (or feel constrained) to confer the nomination on Clinton, they could perhaps extract a promise that she will put Obama on the ticket. If Obama accepts, the Dems would have a powerful ticket and, presumably, no alienated elements within their base.&quot;</p>
<p> <a href="http://blogsearch.google.com/blogsearch?hl=en&amp;ie=UTF-8&amp;q=super+tuesday+obama+clinton&amp;btnG=Search+Blogs">Read</a> &nbsp;more reactions to the Democratic results from Super Tuesday.</p>
<p><em>Who's the runner-up?</em> The Republican race is&nbsp; <a href="http://www.slate.com/id/2183810/">a bit clearer</a> now, with Sen. John McCain taking most of the victories and almost all of the delegates. But results show McCain still has problems with the most conservative voters—he won mostly without them—and Mike Huckabee, not Mitt Romney, won the socially conservative Southern states. Bloggers eulogize Romney and speculate about Huckabee's chances at being the running mate. </p>
<p>Jed Babbin, at conservative <strong>Human Events</strong>, <a href="http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=24859">surveys</a> the damage to Romney: &quot;Now that McCain has momentum, Romney needs a probable path to the nomination to remain credible in the next round of primaries. His wins—in Utah and Massachusetts primaries, and Alaska and North Dakota caucuses—are too scattered and small to provide a realistic foundation for a nomination.&quot; On the <em>Washington Post</em>'s&nbsp;<strong>Trail</strong>, Jonathan Weisman <a href="http://blog.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2008/02/06/romneys_expenses_per_delegate.html">provides</a> a damning footnote to the Romney strategy: &quot;The former Massachusetts governor has spent $1.16 million per delegate, a rate that would cost him $1.33 billion to win the nomination.&quot;</p>
<p>Conservative Romney supporter<strong> Hugh Hewitt</strong> <a href="http://hughhewitt.townhall.com/blog/g/b7d8fd20-1313-4229-a4a7-5325a3815908">urges</a> his party to unite: &quot;Romney and Huckabee ought to begin to note Senator McCain's lead and urge their followers to recognize that if they cannot come back they and their followers will&nbsp;have to come in and join the party's eventual nominee. … Putting Humpty Dumpty together again cannot wait for St. Paul.&quot;</p>
<p>Joe Carter at <strong>Evangelical Outpost</strong> <a href="http://www.evangelicaloutpost.com/archives/004216.html">explains</a> that Huckabee was the real second man in the race: &quot;Pundit-based reality: Huckabee is stealing votes from Romney. Voter-based reality: Huckabee is competing for votes with McCain.&quot; Kevin Drum at the <em>Washington Monthly</em>'s <strong>Political Animal </strong> <a href="http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2008_02/013063.php">wonders aloud</a> about McCain's possible designs on Huck: &quot;Speculation 1: McCain will choose Huckabee as his VP in order to shore up his demographic weaknesses for the general election. Speculation 2: He'll throw Huckabee under the bus just as soon as he has this thing sewn up. Which is it?&quot; Ramesh Ponnuru at <em>National Review's</em><strong>Corner</strong> <a href="http://corner.nationalreview.com/post/?q=MjY0N2EzN2NiMDA0MTY1ODFmOTMyYWY2ZDlhZjAyNmM=">entertains</a> the idea of the former: &quot;The upsides are obvious. They're the first- and third- best vote-getters in the Republican field. Huckabee helps to make up for McCain's weakness with evangelical Protestants and, to a lesser extent, his weakness on domestic policy. The most frequently mentioned downside—the further alienation of some of the same conservatives who have misgivings about McCain—may be overblown.&quot;</p>
<p>But Michael Goldfarb, editor of the<em> Weekly Standard</em>'s <strong>Worldwide Standard</strong>, <a href="http://www.weeklystandard.com/weblogs/TWSFP/2008/02/what_happens_to_huckabee.asp">thinks</a> McCain has bigger concerns than demographics: &quot;Republicans will have to acknowledge that McCain's health is not an inconsequential concern, and I don't think McCain's supporters, or McCain himself, would be terribly comfortable with the idea of Huckabee as commander in chief. So McCain can't make a purely political calculation in choosing his V.P. (assuming Huckabee would be a net positive politically, which, again, is an open question).&quot;</p>
<p> <a href="http://blogsearch.google.com/blogsearch?hl=en&amp;q=super+tuesday+republican+race&amp;btnG=Search+Blogs">Read</a> &nbsp;more reaction on the Republican results from Super Tuesday. </p>Wed, 06 Feb 2008 22:49:00 GMThttp://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/todays_blogs/2008/02/no_decision.htmlDavid Sessions2008-02-06T22:49:00ZNews and PoliticsBloggers on the inconclusive Super Tuesday results.2183905David SessionsToday's Blogshttp://www.slate.com/id/2183905falsefalsefalseStimulating!http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/todays_blogs/2008/01/stimulating.html
<p>Bloggers react to the stimulus deal reached in Congress this morning, chide Bill Clinton's campaign-trail antics, and speculate about mercury found in sushi-grade tuna.</p>
<p><em>Stimulating</em>! After late-night negotiations, the House <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/24/AR2008012400532.html">reached a compromise</a> with the Bush administration on a $145 billion stimulus package that combines taxpayer rebates with one-time incentives for businesses. Bloggers' responses range from tepid to livid.</p>
<p>Frank James, on the <em>Chicago Tribune</em>'s <strong>Swamp</strong>,<strong></strong>is <a href="http://weblogs.chicagotribune.com/news/politics/blog/2008/01/by_frank_james_3.html">pleased</a> to see a work of bipartisanship: &quot;It sounds like there was a true compromise, with neither side getting all of what they wanted. Conservative Republicans didn't want tax rebates going to workers who didn't pay taxes but yielded on that. … Democrats wanted expansions in food stamps and unemployment benefits but didn't make the fact that they couldn't get that a dealbreaker.&quot; </p>
<p>At the nonpartisan <strong>Donklephant</strong>, Justin Gardner <a href="http://donklephant.com/2008/01/24/bi-partisan-economic-stimulus-plan-solidified/">tries</a> to look on the bright side: &quot;While I'm not necessarily in favor of stimulating the economy by going further into debt (huh?), I do like the compromise they came up with. The people at the bottom will spend the money they get immediately, and that's the quickest way to see a fast uptick.&quot; John Hinderaker at conservative <strong>Power Line</strong> <a href="http://www.powerlineblog.com/archives2/2008/01/019621.php">wonders</a>: &quot;If more money in the hands of taxpayers and lighter tax burdens on businesses are now urgently needed to rally a slumping economy, why wouldn't it be a good idea to have lower tax burdens all the time?&quot;</p>
<p>At <strong>Liberty Papers,</strong> Doug Mataconis <a href="http://www.thelibertypapers.org/2008/01/24/bush-congress-to-pass-ineffective-stimulus-package/">blames</a> the &quot;ineffective&quot; package on the presidential campaign: &quot;Creating a 'temporary sense' that the economy isn't really that bad is, of course, exactly what the politicians are aiming for here. They're not aiming to actually fix what's wrong, they're aiming to make it <em>seem</em> like they fixed it in time for the upcoming elections. Which is why both political parties, Republican and Democrat, are behind the idea and why it's taken less than a week.&quot; </p>
<p>Salinger, one of the three Rhode Island conservatives at <strong>Axis of Right</strong>, <a href="http://axisofright.wordpress.com/2008/01/24/the-economic-anti-stimulus-package/">can't see</a> the deal accomplishing much: &quot;The best way to grow the economy is to provide long-term, permanent solutions.&nbsp;While I don't particularly object to the tax rebates (I never mind when the government gives me back some of my money) or the write-offs, they are minor, temporary, and probably low-impact changes.&quot; Bill Jempty at <strong>Wizbang Politics</strong> <a href="http://wizbangpolitics.com/2008/01/24/bush-lawmakers-nearing-economic-stimulus-accord.php">sighs</a>: &quot;I'm skeptical about any tax rebate helping the economy. The impact could very well be slight, except for the $150 billion that will be added to the large national debt this country has. … Live for today, I think most of us are guilty of it.&quot;</p>
<p>Read <a href="http://blogsearch.google.com/blogsearch?hl=en&amp;q=congress+stimulus+&amp;btnG=Search+Blogs">more</a> about the stimulus package. </p>
<p><em>Raging Bill:</em> Bill Clinton has been <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/23/AR2008012304036.html">attracting attention</a> on the campaign trail, and not in a good way: He's attacking Barack Obama and the press, who he believes are shilling for Obama. Liberal bloggers, in particular, are concerned that Clinton's <a href="http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/politics/2008/01/23/bill.clinton.yellin.cnn">feisty antics</a> will hurt his party. </p>
<p>Shaun Mullen, a columnist for the<strong> Moderate Voice</strong>, recounts a not-so-imaginary <a href="http://themoderatevoice.com/at-tmv/newsweek-blogitics/17263/will-bill-clinton-blow-it-for-hillary/">dream</a> he had recently that ended when: &quot;<em>John McCain eked out a narrow win on Election Day not so much over Hillary Clinton as she and her destructive husband</em>.&quot;</p>
<p>On his personal blog, former Secretary of Labor <strong>Robert Reich</strong> <a href="http://robertreich.blogspot.com/2008/01/bill-clintons-old-politics.html">laments</a>: &quot;I write this more out of sadness than anger. Bill Clinton's ill-tempered and ill-founded attacks on Barack Obama are doing no credit to the former President, his legacy, or his wife's campaign. Nor are they helping the Democratic party. While it may be that all is fair in love, war, and politics, it's not fair – indeed, it's demeaning – for a former President to say things that are patently untrue.&quot;</p>
<p>The <strong>Booman Tribune</strong> <a href="http://www.boomantribune.com/story/2008/1/24/12310/7838">outlines</a> Clinton's duty to his party: &quot;[H]e does have a bigger responsibility than 'just a spouse who is aggressively campaigning' for their husband or wife. … Sadly, he is failing miserably here, and his 'aggressive campaigning' is not only making him look bad, but it is making Hillary look bad (possibly hurting her campaign), making Obama look bad, and fracturing the Democratic Party.&quot; That same unease even surfaces on a community blog at the Democratic Party Web site, with Marc C. Eades <a href="http://www.democrats.org/page/community/post/mceades/Ctf4">warning</a>: &quot;If they continue unchecked, Mr. Clinton's antics could also spell trouble for Democratic hopes in November.&quot;</p>
<p>Sheldon Drobny at the Huffington Post <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/sheldon-drobny/political-strategies-and-_b_83069.html">observes</a> that Bill Clinton has shifted the campaign's focus away from the issues: <em>&quot;</em>Bill Clinton is a master at Machiavellian politics by his lawyerly parsing of words. That convinces many that he is not lying. That is exactly the strategy used by Karl Rove. Is that what we want in a Presidential campaign? The end result is that the primary has now become a team sport in that woman and blacks are making decisions based upon race and gender rather than issues.&quot; </p>
<p>Read <a href="http://blogsearch.google.com/blogsearch?hl=en&amp;ie=UTF-8&amp;q=bill+clinton+campaign+hillary&amp;btnG=Search+Blogs">more</a> about Bill Clinton on the campaign trail. </p>
<p><em>Sushi scare: </em>Sushi lovers are in an uproar after the <em>New York Times</em> <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/23/dining/23sushi.html">found</a> high levels of mercury in the tuna served at popular sushi restaurants. Bloggers wonder how much they should be concerned. </p>
<p>Julie at <strong>Brooklyn Skeptic</strong> <a href="http://brooklynskeptic.wordpress.com/2008/01/24/high-levels-of-mercury-found-in-delicious-raw-tuna/">feigns</a> fear: &quot;I know, it's really sad. And what's even sadder is it appears the sushi samples were taken from four star restaurants, which means, who knows what's going on in the 'discounted' raw fish I occasionally purchase from the .5 star restaurants I pass on my way home from work. At this point in the game I may have already ingested a thermometer's worth of merc. You should be worried. For me.&quot;</p>
<p>Samuel Fromartz of <strong>Chews Wise</strong> <a href="http://www.chewswise.com/chews/2008/01/mercury-rising.html">predicts</a> New Yorkers' response: &quot;Fearful of mercury poisoning, eaters will shy away from tuna and restaurants will have to avoid bluefin. … The upshot: maybe bluefin will now have a chance at rebounding, if restaurants switch to other more sustainable and lower toxicity species, such as yellow fin tuna.&quot;</p>
<p>Read <a href="http://blogsearch.google.com/blogsearch?hl=en&amp;q=new+york+sushi+mercury&amp;btnG=Search+Blogs">more</a> about New York's sushi scare. </p>Thu, 24 Jan 2008 23:07:00 GMThttp://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/todays_blogs/2008/01/stimulating.htmlDavid Sessions2008-01-24T23:07:00ZNews and PoliticsBloggers on the&nbsp;stimulus package2182814David SessionsToday's Blogshttp://www.slate.com/id/2182814falsefalsefalseSuper Saturdayhttp://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/todays_papers/2008/01/super_saturday.html
<p>All the papers lead with results from yesterday's presidential primaries—a crucial Republican battle in South Carolina and vicious fight&nbsp;in the Nevada Democratic caucus. The <em> <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/pages/todayspaper/index.html"><em>New York Times</em></a></em>, the <em> <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/print/"><em>Washington Post</em></a></em>, and the <em> <a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/front/"><em>Los Angeles Times</em></a></em> each splits&nbsp;its lead spot between twin stories on Sen. John McCain's triumph in the South Carolina GOP primary and Sen. Hillary Clinton's decisive victory over Sen. Barack Obama in Nevada. </p>
<p>John McCain won South Carolina with a narrow 3 percent&nbsp;edge over Mike Huckabee, the <em>LAT </em> <a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/front/la-na-carolina20jan20,1,3696770.story?coll=la-headlines-frontpage&amp;ctrack=3&amp;cset=true">reports</a>. All the papers select the same McCain quote—a speech-opening allusion to his crushing defeat in South Carolina eight years ago (the <em>NYT</em> and <em>LAT </em>both refer to his victory as an &quot;exorcism&quot; of that bitter loss). Not only did McCain's victory on Saturday wipe the 2000 slate clean, it &quot;marked another comeback milestone in a campaign that had appeared all but terminal last summer, sunk in dismal poll numbers and bereft of cash,&quot; the <em>LAT</em> observes. The <em>NYT</em> <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/20/us/politics/20carolina.html">reviews</a> the losing Republican candidates' campaigning (Huckabee approached South Carolina &quot;with a populist patter&quot;; Romney &quot;struggled&quot; through his days there), and the <em>WP</em> is <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/19/AR2008011902310.html">baffled</a> by Fred Thompson's evening remarks: &quot;Normally laid-back, he thundered on for 10 minutes in language that seemed to point to a withdrawal statement. But he abruptly ended the speech with 'God bless you!' and walked off the stage.&quot; Other than this perplexing speech, Thompson gave no indication that he's leaving the race. </p>
<p>Hillary Rodham Clinton had 51 percent&nbsp;of the vote,&nbsp;compared with&nbsp;Barack Obama's 45 percent&nbsp;and John Edwards' 4 percent&nbsp;in Nevada (again, the <em>LAT</em> <a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/front/la-na-nevada20jan20,1,234816.story?coll=la-headlines-frontpage&amp;ctrack=2&amp;cset=true">has the numbers</a>). But the papers quibble over whether Clinton's Nevada victory was decisive. The <em>WP</em> <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/19/AR2008011902598.html">reports</a>, several paragraphs in,&nbsp;the Obama camp's take on the night: that Nevada is a &quot;shared victory&quot; because Obama secured more national delegates than Clinton. The <em>NYT</em> <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/20/us/politics/20nevada.html?ref=todayspaper">brings</a> this shared-victory analysis to the forefront without attributing it to the Obama campaign (the story's&nbsp;deck headline reads, &quot;Obama second, but takes one more delegate,&quot;&nbsp;though the article offers no clear&nbsp;substantiation). The <em>LAT </em>does more homework, reporting that state party officials called Obama's I-won-more-delegates line &quot;erroneous.&quot; The <em>LAT</em>, thus, takes a bolder stance, avoiding the murky delegate question altogether: Hillary &quot;easily won,&quot; &quot;seizing the upper hand&quot; in the campaign. All three stories note Clinton's strong showings with women and Hispanic voters—&quot;two constituencies she is counting on as the campaign heads toward a coast-to-coast showdown,&quot; the <em>NYT</em> notes. In the shadows of the Hillary victory, the papers report that Mitt Romney handily won Nevada's Republican caucus (a &quot;non-binding straw poll,&quot; the ever-detailed <em>LAT</em> explains). The <em>WP</em> says the win &quot;kept alive a candidacy that was on life support,&quot; while the <em>NYT</em> devotes a single sentence to the Romney result before resuming its Clinton analysis. </p>
<p>An array of post-primary news analysis makes its way onto the front pages, most of it&nbsp;rather predictable: South Carolina gives McCain momentum but isn't singularly decisive, McCain still has to prove he can energize the Republican base, and Florida is now the showdown state. Analyses in both the <em> <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/20/us/politics/20assess.html">NYT</a></em> and <em> <a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/front/la-na-gopassess20jan20,1,1701992.story?coll=la-headlines-frontpage">LAT</a></em> make the important observation that a significant&nbsp;amount of McCain's&nbsp;support in South Carolina came from independents, not voters who identify themselves as Republicans. Providing insight into how an independent-magnet will fare with the Republican base, conservative Christian leader Gary Bauer tells the <em>NYT</em>: &quot;On balance, in most states, to get the nomination you've got to do very well among registered Republicans, and that is going to become increasingly important as other candidates drop out of the race.&quot;</p>
<p>Much more worth the read is a <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/19/AR2008011903187.html">second front-page story</a> on McCain in the <em>WP</em>, this one about his success at defusing attacks from &quot;conservative voices.&quot; Steady attacks from conservatives like Rush Limbaugh and Tom DeLay, &quot;voices that once held sway over the Republican rank and file,&quot;&nbsp;did not&nbsp;have the same derailing effect that they had when McCain lost South Carolina to George W. Bush in 2000. The intriguing piece compares McCain's two South Carolina campaigns, revealing that this time the Arizona senator assembled his own collection of staunch conservatives who were &quot;vociferous&quot; in his defense. </p>
<p>In one of the few A1 spaces not devoted to election coverage, the <em>NYT</em> runs an <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/20/world/asia/20japan.html">arresting story</a> on the popularity of Japanese &quot;cell phone novels&quot;—that's right, entire books thumb-typed on cell phones. Most cell phone novels are the product of bored young commuters taking advantage of their unlimited data plans, and are composed in short, broken sentences with little plot or character development. Five of 2007's&nbsp;10 best-selling books in Japan were originally cell phone novels, a fact that has Japanese literary experts understandably alarmed; enthusiasts say the trend encourages nonwriters to write and nonreaders to read, and should be recognized as a serious genre.</p>
<p>The <em>WP</em> and <em>LAT</em> both turn colorful scenes of the record-breaking election night in Las Vegas into entertaining pieces: The <em>WP</em> <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/19/AR2008011902592.html">interviews</a> partying caucus-goers at the Wynn Las Vegas casino, and&nbsp;an inside&nbsp;<em>LAT </em>sidebar<em>&nbsp;</em> <a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/asection/la-na-caucus20jan20,1,3485228.story?coll=la-news-a_section&amp;ctrack=5&amp;cset=true">tells</a> the story of the Wynn caucus from the planning phase to the salon hairdressers tipping the final tally in Obama's favor, 189-187. </p>Sun, 20 Jan 2008 11:10:00 GMThttp://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/todays_papers/2008/01/super_saturday.htmlDavid Sessions2008-01-20T11:10:00ZNews and PoliticsJohn McCain and Hillary Clinton share the primary-victory spotlight.2182532David SessionsToday's Papershttp://www.slate.com/id/2182532falsefalsefalsePalmetto Previewhttp://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/todays_blogs/2008/01/palmetto_preview.html
<p>Bloggers argue for their favorite Republican candidates in advance of the South Carolina primary and draw warnings from the indictment of Mark Siljander, a former GOP congressman indicted for allegedly funneling money to al-Qaida. They also take turns throwing at their latest dartboard, the new MacBook Air. </p>
<p><em>Palmetto preview</em>: Three different Republican primary victors have given Saturday's South Carolina primary <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/16/AR2008011603708.html?hpid=topnews">more influence</a> than ever. Bloggers enjoy the rare opportunity to participate in a wide-open election. </p>
<p>An anonymous college prof <a href="http://panicinyearzero.blogspot.com/2008/01/right-idea-wrong-carolina.html">gives the history</a> of the king-making Carolina primary on <strong>Panic In Year Zero</strong>:<strong></strong>&quot;Working for Ronald Reagan in 1980, [Lee] Atwater helped arrange his state's early placement on the primary schedule to help the right-wing Californian put down the 'moderate' challenge of George H.W. Bush. Since then, no Republican has won the White House without first scoring a victory in the South Carolina primary.&quot; </p>
<p>Much of the discourse centers around John McCain and Mitt Romney, who have been trading aggressive attacks in South Carolina. Based on conversations with a Romney aide, Kathryn Jean Lopez at <em>National Review</em>'s <strong>Corner</strong> <a href="http://corner.nationalreview.com/post/?q=YzViNWU0N2I3ZDEyOGEwMzllNDQ3MmI4ZjhiOWNjYTE=">reports</a> that Mitt's leaving the state: &quot;Said aide said folks are resigned to a strong third or fourth place finish and the mood seems to be, based on internals, that South Carolina may be McCain's.&quot; <strong>Jonathan Martin</strong>, who covers the GOP for <em>Politico, </em> <a href="http://www.politico.com/blogs/jonathanmartin/0108/Mitt_already_trying_to_spin_loss_in_SC.html">says</a> Romney's conceding early to lower expectations: &quot;It's Rudy in N.H. all over again—spend a lot of cash and time, realize you can't win, try to spin expectations game.&quot;</p>
<p>Today's <a href="http://www.slate.com/id/2182333/">papers</a> report that John McCain is meeting negative attacks head-on to avoid a repeat of 2000's campaign-ending experience in South Carolina. Paul Kiel at the left-leaning <strong>TPM Muckraker</strong> <a href="http://www.tpmmuckraker.com/archives/005089.php">predicts</a> that the push-poll scheme won't hurt McCain: &quot;The calls, numbering around seven million so far in various primary states, are the work of the Huck-supporting group Common Sense Issues, and the attacks are pretty standard GOP negative fare so far.&quot; On <strong>The Fix</strong>, the <em>Washinton Post</em>'s politics blog, Chris Cillizza <a href="http://blog.washingtonpost.com/thefix/2008/01/the_changing_face_of_sc.html">warns</a> that 2000 shouldn't &quot;cloud the analysis&quot; of the current situation: &quot;Geographic changes have accrued to McCain's benefit over the last eight years, as has his work to allay voters' fears about his conservative credentials.&quot; </p>
<p>Left-leaning Michael Stickings of the<strong> Moderate Voice </strong> <a href="http://themoderatevoice.com/politics/mick-huckabee/17140/why-romney-will-may-win/">calls</a> a Romney nomination even if McCain wins Saturday: &quot;McCain did well in New Hampshire, as he should have, and he may yet win South Carolina, but I can't see the G.O.P. establishment and the conservative movement fully accepting him as their preferred nominee.&quot; Scott Miller at the<strong> Conservative Post</strong> <a href="http://theconservativepost.com/WordPress/?p=310">confirms</a> that analysis; after posting a list of McCain quotes, he complains: &quot;We could just as easily swap out the name 'McCain' for Hillary Clinton.&quot;</p>
<p>Read <a href="http://blogsearch.google.com/blogsearch?hl=en&amp;ie=UTF-8&amp;q=south+carolina+republican+primary&amp;btnG=Search+Blogs">more</a> about the race to the South Carolina primary. Follow <strong><em>Slate</em></strong>'s John Dickerson around <a href="http://www.slate.com/id/2182254/">South Carolina</a>, where he says Romney has <a href="http://www.slate.com/id/2182397/">retooled his stump speech</a>.</p>
<p><em>Who's funding &nbsp;al-Qaida?</em>: Former Michigan Republican Rep. Mark Siljander was <a href="http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080116/NEWS07/80116047/&amp;imw=Y">indicted</a> Wednesay on various charges, including money laundering, in a scheme to fund Islamic terrorist organizations. Bloggers attempt to make sense of the seemingly paradoxical: a terrorist-coddling Republican?</p>
<p><strong>Debbie Schlussel</strong>, a conservative blogger and former intern for Siljander, <a href="http://www.debbieschlussel.com/archives/2008/01/what_happened_t_2.html">is aghast</a>: &quot;What makes the allegations in the indictment so shocking, is that Siljander is a Born-Again Evangelical Christian. We had fast days in his office. There were prayer circles. So deeply religious and so deeply against the Islamic threat, Siljander was known, at the time, as the most pro-Israel Congressman on Capitol Hill.&quot; To which <strong>Andrew Sullivan</strong> <a href="http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2008/01/the-philosophy.html">quips</a>: &quot;Er, <em>yeah.</em> Osama bin Laden has prayer circles too.&quot;</p>
<p>And Larkin at the liberal <strong>Wizbang Blue</strong> <a href="http://wizbangblue.com/2008/01/16/former-republican-congressmen-indicted-for-al-qaeda-links.php">isn't as shocked</a> as some conservative bloggers: &quot;It certainly comes as no surprise to me that a Republican has been raising money for al Qaeda assuming the charges are true. Al Qaeda and the Republicans both rely on the fear generated by each other to remain in power. Republicans are constantly promoting the threat we face from al Qaeda even reproducing statements from bin Laden and images of terrorist attacks in political ads that they use on a regular basis.&quot;</p>
<p>At the <strong>Daily Kos</strong>,<strong></strong>Frederick Clarkson <a href="http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/1/17/103358/402">offers</a> a somber warning: &quot;Mark Siljander is a fine poster boy for how wrong we can be if we base our support for a candidate, a political faction or even a political party, primarily on supposed fealty to religious orthodoxy. This ought to give even the most religiously orthodox and politically conservative of the religious right, pause.&quot; And Robert Spencer of <strong>Jihad Watch</strong> tries to <a href="http://www.jihadwatch.org/archives/019610.php">look on the bright side</a>: &quot;If the charges against him are true, Siljander's story is a tragedy. But it could yet bear good fruit, in an American public newly prepared to meet the multifaceted challenge of the global Islamic jihad.&quot;</p>
<p>Read <a href="http://blogsearch.google.com/blogsearch?hl=en&amp;ie=UTF-8&amp;q=mark+siljander+indictment&amp;btnG=Search+Blogs">more</a> about the Mark Siljander indictment. </p>
<p><em>Hot Air</em>: Steve Jobs <a href="http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5hLBhP9s1xrlQNtcf_HB5vPmZ3UuA">unveiled</a> Apple's latest groundbreaking toy—a new superthin notebook dubbed the &quot;MacBook Air.&quot; Bloggers don't fall for the hype, pointing out some glaring omissions. </p>
<p><strong>Geek Sugar </strong> <a href="http://geeksugar.com/962849?r=headline">sums up</a> the issues: &quot;I can't deny the fact that there are three main features that I wish it didn't omit. … Features like an optical drive that allows you to copy tunes from CDs to iTunes or watch DVDs. As well as an ethernet port since you're basically outta luck if you can't find a wireless network to connect to. … And last but not least, the MacBook Air only comes with one USB port.&quot; </p>
<p>The everything-Apple blog <strong>MacApper</strong> <a href="http://macapper.com/2008/01/17/macbook-air-sucks-puuulease/">dismisses</a> the criticisms: &quot;It may not have all the features that everyone wants, and it may be a little expensive, but it's damn slick and enough for most people.&quot;<strong> Jim Jabella</strong>, a British techie, <a href="http://www.jemjabella.co.uk/post/20080117_macbook_air_sucks_too">retorts</a>: &quot;We're told that if you don't like it, you're obviously missing something: &quot;It's aimed at a different market!&quot; Which market is that … more money than sense?&quot; </p>
<p>Read <a href="http://blogsearch.google.com/blogsearch?hl=en&amp;ie=UTF-8&amp;as_drrb=q&amp;as_qdr=d&amp;q=macbook+air&amp;sa=N&amp;start=40">more</a> about the Macbook Air. (<strong><em>Slate</em></strong>'s Paul Boutin is <a href="http://www.slate.com/id/2182227/">disappointed</a>, too.)</p>Thu, 17 Jan 2008 23:24:00 GMThttp://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/todays_blogs/2008/01/palmetto_preview.htmlDavid Sessions2008-01-17T23:24:00ZNews and PoliticsBloggers on the South Carolina GOP primary.2182416David SessionsToday's Blogshttp://www.slate.com/id/2182416falsefalsefalseElection Malfunctionhttp://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/other_magazines/2008/01/election_malfunction.html
<p>Today, Other Magazines reads through the <em>Economist</em>, the <em>New York Times Magazine</em>, <em>Time</em>, <em>Good</em>, and <em>Harper's</em> to find out what's worth your time—and what's not.</p>
<p><strong> Must Read</strong> The <em>New York Times Magazine</em> fronts a truly frightening article on computerized-voting machines. Remember the whole hanging-chad debacle? That'll feel quaint in comparison to the server malfunctions and printer jams that may plague the 2008 election.— <em>J.L.</em></p>
<p><strong>Best Campaign Piece<br /></strong>The <em>Economist</em> <a href="http://economist.com/world/na/displaystory.cfm?story_id=10431050">compares</a> the presidential campaign strategies of New York City mayors Rudy Giuliani and Michael Bloomberg, neither of whom had a chance in Iowa. If Giuliani's risky campaign fizzles, Bloomberg may be the beneficiary.<em>—D.S.</em></p>
<p><strong>Best Essay<br /></strong>In his <a href="http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1699882,00.html">introduction</a> to a <em>Time</em> photo essay on campaigning in Iowa, Mark Halperin salutes Iowa for thoroughly vetting the presidential candidates so the rest of us don't have to. Unfortunately, the photos of Iowa that accompany Halperin's essay remind us that a state covered in snow and crawling with grinning presidential hopefuls is not very photogenic.—<em>C.W.</em></p>
<p><strong>Best Interview<br /></strong>Check out the<em> New York Times</em><em>Magazine</em> Q&amp;A with David Frum, the conservative author who helped coin the phrase &quot;axis of evil.&quot; Frum thinks the Republicans' time in the limelight may be over, but he says a comeback's not impossible.—<em>J.L.</em></p>
<p><strong>Unlikeliest Endorsement<br /></strong><em>Good</em>&nbsp; <a href="http://www.goodmagazine.com/section/Features/russian_gambit">interviews Garry Kasparov</a>, the former chessmaster and current Russian opposition leader, and gets him to make a tentative presidential endorsement. When asked who impressed him the most in regards to American policy toward Russia, he says, &quot;The only one to articulate it strongly is Senator McCain.&quot;—<em>C.M.</em></p>
<p><strong>Best International Piece<br /></strong><em>Time</em>'s <a href="http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1699642,00.html">cover story</a> on the future of Pakistan is a comprehensive primer for the country's prospects for stability in the post-Benazir Bhutto era. The package includes a brief genealogy of the Bhutto clan and a short sidebar on the likelihood of the risks of Pakistan's nuclear arsenal falling into the hands of terrorists if the government collapses.—<em>C.W.</em></p>
<p><strong>Best Obit<br /></strong>An <a href="http://economist.com/obituary/displaystory.cfm?story_id=10423870">obituary</a> of Benazir Bhutto in the <em>Economist</em> shares some colorful details about the fallen Pakistani leader: She had psychedelic posters on the wall of her Oxford dormitory, was a fan of &quot;slushy&quot; novels, and loved Victoria's Secret.<em>—D.S.</em></p>
<p><strong>Best Religion Piece<br /></strong><em>Harper's</em> fascinating cover story on Jerusalem examines the &quot;ecology of monotheism&quot;—the cultural and physical landscape of the &quot;[b]arren [b]irthplace of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.&quot;—<em>J.R.</em></p>
<p><strong>Best Line</strong><br />In an <a href="http://www.goodmagazine.com/section/Features/god_without_the_fuss">article on Joel Osteen in <em>Good</em></a>, Thomas Golianopoulos sums up the sometimes-plastic pastor succinctly: &quot;Basically, he looks like a less-smarmy Ken doll.&quot;—<em>C.M.</em></p>
<p><strong>Best Take Down<br /></strong>In Virginia Heffernan's column for the <em>New York Times Magazine</em>, the Medium, she pillories Microsoft Word, which makes writers feel like they're &quot;taking an essay test.&quot; Heffernan suggests an alternative word-processing program called Scrivener, which offers a &quot;full screen&quot; writing experience and fewer annoying icons.—<em>J.L.</em></p>
<p><strong>Best TV Piece<br /></strong><em>Time</em> pays <a href="http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1699870,00.html">tribute</a> to the first four seasons of HBO's <em>The Wire</em>, beginning with an apology for having taken so long to sing its praises. The piece is reasonably devoid of spoilers, but grapples enough with the plot to get prospective readers excited about the show.—<em>C.W.</em></p>
<p><strong>Best Arts Piece<br /></strong><em> <a>Good </a></em>delivers <a href="http://www.goodmagazine.com/section/Stimuli/jaime_wolf_on_mumblecore">a great primer</a> &nbsp;on &quot;mumblecore&quot;—a genre of movies the writer,&nbsp;Jaime Wolf, says are &quot;lo-fi, micro-budget American indie films about 20-somethings&quot;—for the uninitiated.—<em>C.M.</em> <a href="http://www.slate.com#Correction">*</a></p>
<p><strong>Best Food Article<br /></strong><em>Harper's</em> rejects the idea that deadly food allergies are increasingly common in children. Stories of students dying from PBJ kisses? Exaggerated. Kids dropping like flies from brown-bagged lunches? Fabricated by food allergy activists and the pharmaceutical industry that profits from them.—<em>J.R.</em></p>
<p><strong>Best Drink Piece<br /></strong>An <a href="http://economist.com/world/britain/displaystory.cfm?story_id=10443015">article</a> in the <em>Economist</em> charts the rise of British binge drinking and argues that Britain's loosening of laws to allow clubs to stay open later hasn't been a contributing factor. &quot;Violence fuelled by alcohol has remained broadly stable, with slightly fewer incidents around 11pm, when tanked-up hordes used to pour out onto the streets, and slightly more in the wee hours.&quot;<em>—D.S.</em></p>
<p><em><strong> <a>Correction</a>, Jan. 7, 2008: </strong>This article originally referred to Jaime Wolf of </em>Good <em>magazine as she instead of he. (<a href="http://www.slate.com#Return">Return</a> &nbsp;to the corrected sentence.)</em></p>Fri, 04 Jan 2008 21:29:00 GMThttp://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/other_magazines/2008/01/election_malfunction.htmlJuliet LapidosChadwick MatlinJonathan RubinDavid SessionsChris Wilson2008-01-04T21:29:00ZThe New York Times Magazine on the possible computerized-voting snafus in 2008.News and PoliticsWhat's worth reading in Time, the Economist, and more.2181389Juliet LapidosChadwick MatlinJonathan RubinDavid SessionsChris WilsonOther Magazineshttp://www.slate.com/id/2181389falsefalsefalseThe Year Storms Outhttp://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/todays_papers/2008/01/the_year_storms_out.html
<p>The <em>New York Times</em> <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/01/world/asia/01pakistan.htm">leads</a> with a call by Pakistani opposition politician Nawaz Sharif for the immediate resignation of current president Pervez Musharraf. The statement came amid predictions by Pakistani officials that next Tuesday's elections will be delayed until the end of January. The <em>Los Angeles Times</em> <a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-na-secondchoice1jan01,0,3094276.story?coll=la-home-center">leads</a> with the front-runners in the Democratic race vying to become the second choice among supporters of less popular candidates, who will possibly be shifting if their selected candidates fail to win the required minimum support at Thursday's Iowa caucuses. The <em>Washington Post</em> <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/31/AR2007123102329.html">leads</a> with a rise in D.C. gun violence in 2007, with the homicide rate increasing 7 percent after years of decline. </p>
<p>The <em>NYT</em> sees Sharif's call for Musharraf to resign as another chapter in the pair's &quot;poisonous history,&quot; which includes a Musharraf-led coup against Sharif in October 1999, during Sharif's second term as prime minister. Sharif said that his party will participate if elections are held next Tuesday, but opposition leaders say that an election so closely following the assassination of Benazir Bhutto would likely be rigged by Musharraf's government and therefore &quot;deeply flawed.&quot; The <em>WP</em> <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/31/AR2007123102493.html">reports</a>, a day after the <em>NYT </em>got the story, claims by doctors that they were placed under &quot;extreme pressure&quot; by Pakistani officials to keep the details of Bhutto's final moments quiet. Proof that close-range gunfire killed the ex-premier, the story informs, could suggest that the government's security was breached and bolster opposition claims that Musharraf failed to adequately protect Bhutto.</p>
<p>The <em>LAT</em> focuses on the &quot;brief and unpredictable moment&quot; in the Iowa caucuses where supporters of less popular candidates will, if their candidates do not win a &quot;minimum level of support,&quot; be released to select an alternative. The front-runners—Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, and John Edwards—are employing an &quot;array of strategies,&quot; mostly preparing campaign volunteers with tailored arguments designed to highlight the front-running candidate's similarities to the less popular candidate whose support they hope to absorb. The story spends five paragraphs on Clinton's strategies, one on Obama's, and offers no details from the Edwards campaign. The best inside bits come from the Obama campaign, which has armed volunteers with caucus-goer profiles, so they can make last-minute, face-to-face pitches. The <em>NYT</em> is also interested in &quot;decisive moments,&quot; but <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/01/us/politics/01decide.html?ref=todayspaper">wonders</a> the opposite: What if Iowa doesn't single out a front-runner? It very well might not, the story reports, as several polls indicate that the Democratic caucus &quot;could end up more or less a tie.&quot;</p>
<p>The <em>WP</em> <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/31/AR2007123102491.html">fronts</a> and the <em>NYT</em> <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/01/us/politics/01huckabee.html?ref=todayspaper">mentions</a> Republican presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee's fun with an anti-Romney ad, which he played for reporters yesterday&nbsp;before announcing&nbsp;that it would not be running in Iowa. Reeling after a week of negative spots from Romney's campaign and&nbsp;a harsher degree&nbsp;of media scrutiny, Huckabee has slipped behind Romney in a new poll and even told reporters that he would be satisfied with finishing second. The <em>WP</em> suggests that the &quot;unorthodox gamble&quot; with the ad was an intentional ploy, noting, &quot;within minutes, the ad was being played on national television and had been posted on blogs and other Web sites—without costing his campaign a penny.&quot; Calling the move a &quot;bizarre bit of political theater,&quot; the <em>NYT</em> also picked up on the irony, observing that the viral media coverage &quot;went on to give [Huckabee's] anti-Romney message free publicity while he claimed the moral high ground.&quot;</p>
<p>Inside the <em>NYT</em>, the paper <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/01/us/politics/01romney.html?ref=todayspaper">reports</a> from the other side of the Huckabee-Romney dead heat Iowa, delving into Romney's attempts to &quot;grapple with Mr. Huckabee's easygoing way.&quot; Huckabee's own admission that the steady stream of attacks, carefully orchestrated by the Romney camp to question Huckabee's record in&nbsp;Arkansas, has proved to a jubilant Romney campaign that their efforts are paying off. But Romney has far from pulled in front, and his gains may have&nbsp;come with a price. &quot;Iowa voters have a history of being unsettled by negative advertisements, a sentiment that Mr. Huckabee was presumably trying to fan on Monday,&quot; the story warns. </p>
<p>The <em>LAT</em> <a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/front/la-fg-iraq1jan01,1,5604252.story?coll=la-headlines-frontpage&amp;ctrack=5&amp;cset=true">fronts</a> casualty numbers from Iraq, this time with a positive twist: While 2007 was the bloodiest year of the war, December proved the safest month for U.S. forces since the 2003 invasion.&nbsp;Twenty-one U.S. military personnel died in Iraq this month, a number that is &quot;striking&quot; compared with 2006's tally of 112. It's unclear if the good news means much, or if it can be expected to continue; Iraqis &quot;remain edgy,&quot; a feeling reinforced by a suicide bombing north of Baghdad that killed 12 people Monday. The <em>WP</em> colorfully illustrates the edgy feeling of the populace&nbsp;with a depressing <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/31/AR2007123102211.html">account</a> of an Iraqi New Year's celebration, where attendees of a Baghdad club loosen into celebration only reluctantly, after beer and extensive persuasion. &quot;Iraq has just gotten safer—you can laugh a little,&quot; a singer calls from the stage. &quot;We are not charging you for your applause.&quot;</p>
<p>A more lighthearted <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/31/AR2007123101926_2.html">essay</a> in the <em>WP</em> Style section has academic researchers take a stab at explaining why we hold fast to the chronically unsatisfying ritual of New Year's resolutions. The resulting theories are sketchy but strangely comforting: Resolutions are evolutionary. They're part of nature, sort of like the rising of the sun. They're an instinctive&nbsp;response to indulgent behavior. We can remember our actions well, but we rarely recall accurately how&nbsp;those actions <em>felt</em>. Thus, &quot;we make these New Year's pledges not because we forget that we've failed, but because we think we have outsmarted the failure.&quot;</p>Tue, 01 Jan 2008 11:51:00 GMThttp://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/todays_papers/2008/01/the_year_storms_out.htmlDavid Sessions2008-01-01T11:51:00ZNews and PoliticsThe Year Storms Out2181138David SessionsToday's Papershttp://www.slate.com/id/2181138falsefalsefalseBhutto Rememberedhttp://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/todays_blogs/2007/12/bhutto_remembered.html
<p>Benazir Bhutto, the former prime minister of Pakistan, was <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/27/AR2007122700122.html">assassinated</a> Thursday at a campaign rally in Rawalpindi. Bhutto, who returned from exile in October, was reportedly shot just before a suicide bomber detonated, killing 20 other people and wounding dozens more. Pakistani bloggers offer firsthand accounts of the reaction in their cities, while others speculate about the killing's effect on the U.S. presidential campaign.</p>
<p>Blogger Tee Emm from Karachi, Bhutto's hometown, <a href="http://karachi.metblogs.com/archives/2007/12/panic_grips_kar.phtml">reports</a> the city's initial reaction at the frequently updated <strong> <a href="http://karachi.metblogs.com/">Metroblogging Karachi</a></strong>: &quot;Karachi appears to be in a grip of unprecedented panic right now. There is obvious panic and everyone is shocked. As the offices get closed down, people are rushing to their homes in anticipation of protests.&quot; At the same blog, Teeth Maestro is <a href="http://karachi.metblogs.com/archives/2007/12/online_condolen.phtml">coordinating</a> online condolences: &quot;She was a hero to many, and rival to others, but the bottom line is that she was a brave leader of our nation and her struggles for democracy will not go unremembered.&quot;</p>
<p>The <strong>Pakistani Spectator </strong> <a href="http://pakspectator.blogspot.com/2007/12/late-benazir-bhutto.html">offers</a> sympathy: &quot;Her murder is the murder of Pakistani nation. … It's not about People's Party or Muslim League or whoever else. It's about the humanity. It's about the courage of the lady, who came back to the country from the posh palaces of London and Spain … and she was well received. Though she was accused of deals and dheels, she nonetheless ruled the hearts of millions of people in the country.&quot; On <strong><em>Slate</em>'s XX Factor</strong>,<strong></strong>Dahlia Lithwick <a href="http://slate.com/blogs/blogs/xxfactor/archive/2007/12/27/benazir-bhutto.aspx">recalls</a> Bhutto's complexity: &quot;Bhutto was a complicated woman—underneath the traditional veils she was a graduate of Oxford and Harvard, who spoke flawless English. But then under all that she was also a political creature who had mastered the sort of shape-shifting needed to cast herself as&nbsp;a historic figure in the mold of Indira Ghandi or Joan of Arc.&quot;</p>
<p>Many bloggers expect Pakistan to erupt in violence. At <em>Foreign Policy</em>'s<strong> Passport</strong>,<strong> Blake Hounshell </strong> <a href="http://blog.foreignpolicy.com/node/7501">gives</a> a bleak outlook: &quot;Angry riots and a reimposition of martial law are probably a foregone conclusion. And for the United States, it probably means that U.S. policymakers now see President Pervez Musharraf as their only option.&quot;</p>
<p>Steve Clemons<strong></strong>at<strong></strong>the<strong> Washington Note </strong>avoids overstating Bhutto's political power but <a href="http://www.thewashingtonnote.com/archives/002612.php">predicts</a> the likely devastating effects on Pakistan's tense political situation: &quot;While it is doubtful that she could have easily calmed Pakistan's increasing turmoil if she had ascended to officialdom while in some power-sharing arrangement with President Musharraf, her death today makes everything much more fragile. …[W]hile Pakistan's future would always have been messy, that mess will be less managed and scripted and will now be far more uncontrolled, unstable, and dangerous.&quot; Conservative <strong>Confederate Yankee</strong> <a href="http://confederateyankee.mu.nu/archives/250392.php">writes</a> that Musharraf now faces his &quot;greatest crisis&quot;: &quot;The January 8 elections now seem in doubt, and missteps by Musharraf could plunge the nuclear-armed country into a possible civil war. … If Musharraf is able to keep the situation from deteriorating to that point, and Islamists are found to be responsible for Bhutto's assassination, he may finally be forced to face the Taliban and al Qaeda-aligned militants in the border regions that terrorists have used as a staging area and base camp since the U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan, forces he has largely tried to appease or ignore in the past.&quot;</p>
<p>More than a few are pointing fingers at al-Qaida and the Taliban. At conservative <strong>Wizbang</strong>, D.J. Drummond <a href="http://wizbangblog.com/content/2007/12/27/pakistan-former-pm-bhutto-murdered.php">counts the motives</a>: &quot;Not only was she the first woman leader of a Muslim nation, but she was also moderate, pro-democracy, and pro-US. She wasn't afraid to publicly announce that, if she won the election, that she would seek out and destroy the radical Islamists that have caused all the turmoil in Pakistan.&quot; Cliff May, at <em>National Review</em>'s <strong>Corner</strong>, <a href="http://corner.nationalreview.com/post/?q=ZTZkMzU4YzRiYTBlOWNiYWE5OWRmMDA5MjhhMTdkNmM=">peers</a> into the Islamist mind: &quot;This is not some extraordinary event. This is not the work of some lone madman. This is how militant Islamists contest elections—not just in Pakistan but also in Lebanon and Gaza and wherever they get a foothold. Why bother with op-eds, TV commercials, high-priced campaign strategists, spin doctors and pollsters when with one suicide bomber you can eliminate your opponent entirely?&quot;</p>
<p>The tragedy was still fresh when the presidential campaigns started tripping over one another to be the first to offer response. At <strong><em>Slate</em></strong>'s<strong> Map the Correspondent</strong>, John Dickerson <a href="http://www.slate.com/id/2180939/">writes</a>: &quot;Moments after&nbsp;... Bhutto's death was announced, I was getting e-mails from campaign aides, political obsessives, and the campaigns themselves. The candidates are quick to express their sadness, of course, but everyone is moving so fast because they're trying to muscle into the news cycle more than ever. There's only a week to go before the Iowa caucuses, and this murder lands right in the middle of a key issue in both parties. The ability to react to unpredictable news in a crazy world is at the heart of both primary debates.&quot; Liberal pundit Steve Benen of the<strong> Carpetbagger Report</strong> <a href="http://www.thecarpetbaggerreport.com/archives/14053.html">predicts</a> what various candidates' supporters will say and concludes: &quot;My hunch is no one has the foggiest idea which candidate Bhutto's death helps, if any, but that won't deter the breathless speculation.&quot;</p>
<p>Conservative Ed Morrissey of <strong>Captain's Quarters</strong> <a href="http://www.captainsquartersblog.com/mt/archives/016448.php">opens fire</a> on Gov. Bill Richardson's statement, which called for the U.S. to force Musharraf out of office: &quot;The stupidity of this statement cascades through several levels. First and foremost, how would the U.S. 'force' Musharraf to step down? Should we invade Pakistan to fight on the side of al-Qaeda and the Taliban, who have pursued that same goal for the past six years, thanks to Musharraf's alliance with the US? Or does Richardson expect us to conduct an assassination? Better yet, why should we dictate who runs Pakistan? Isn't that a rather bald assertion of so-called American imperialism?&quot;</p>
<p> <a href="http://blogsearch.google.com/blogsearch?hl=en&amp;ie=UTF-8&amp;q=Benazir+Bhutto">Read</a> &nbsp;more about the Bhutto assassination. <strong>Pajamas Media</strong> offers a news-and-blog roundup. In <strong><em>Slate</em></strong>, read Christopher Hitchens on <a href="http://www.slate.com/id/2180952/">Bhutto's courage</a> and Nicholas Schmidle on what this means for the <a href="http://www.slate.com/id/2180952/">Pakistani elections</a>. From the <strong><em>Slate</em></strong> archives, read Bhutto's weeklong &quot;Diary,&quot; where she <a href="http://www.slate.com/id/2180937/entry/24702">shouts down a hostile parliament</a>, deals with the government shutting off her electricity, and indulges her children (and eventually herself) with pizza and chocolate cake. </p>Thu, 27 Dec 2007 23:20:00 GMThttp://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/todays_blogs/2007/12/bhutto_remembered.htmlDavid Sessions2007-12-27T23:20:00ZNews and PoliticsBloggers remember Bhutto.2180999David SessionsToday's Blogshttp://www.slate.com/id/2180999falsefalsefalseNever Enoughhttp://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/todays_papers/2007/12/never_enough.html
<p>The <em>New York Times </em> <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/22/washington/22intel.html">leads</a> with former Sept. 11 commission members' revelation that they repeatedly requested details from the CIA about the interrogation of al-Qaida operatives. The commission was told that they had been given all available information, despite the CIA. possessing videotapes of interrogation sessions. The <em>Washington Post</em> <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/21/AR2007122102544.html">leads</a> with an FBI plan to build a $1 billion database that will house an unprecedented amount of biometric information about American citizens. These details—physical characteristics like fingerprints, face shapes, and even walking styles—would then be broadly available to assist in identifying criminals and terrorists. The <em>Wall Street Journal </em>tops its world-wide news box with word that Defense Secretary Robert Gates, concerned over a surge of violence in Afghanistan, might deploy more troops to that country. And the <em>Los Angeles Times</em> <a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-arnold22dec22,0,3407799.story?coll=la-home-center">leads</a> with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's plans to declare a state of fiscal emergency next year in California and to seek immediate, sweeping cuts in state services to reduce the $14.5 billion budget deficit. </p>
<p>The <em>NYT</em> continues its close coverage of the destroyed CIA tapes, reporting on a memorandum prepared by the Sept. 11 commission's former executive director and obtained by the <em>Times</em>. The seven-page document concludes that more evidence would be required to determine if the CIA violated federal law by withholding the tapes, but former commission chairmen Lee H. Hamilton and Thomas H. Kean say the report &quot;convinced them that the agency had made a conscious decision to impede the Sept. 11 commission's inquiry.&quot; The CIA protests that the commission never <em>specifically </em>asked for interrogation videos, but the commission heads say they asked the CIA to provide the panel with any available information, whether or not it was specifically requested. The memo, which notes that federal law penalizes failure to comply with such a request, will be turned over to federal prosecutors and congressional investigators attempting to determine if the CIA's hide-tape-destroy-tape act was illegal. </p>
<p>&quot;The use of biometric data is increasing throughout the government,&quot; the <em>WP </em>reports from an FBI information facility in Clarksburg, Va., where a proposed new biometrics database—two football fields of it—will be built. The story describes the abundant use of fingerprints, iris scans, and facial images already taking place throughout federal agencies, including the FBI, the Pentagon, and the Department of Homeland Security. FBI officials say they want bigger, better, and faster, while some citizens worry about the prospect of the human body itself becoming a sort of national ID card. One opposition quote has an electronic-privacy advocate voicing concerns about the lack of evidence for the accuracy of biometric techniques, which could mean crucial law enforcement decisions are based on potentially incomplete or inaccurate information.</p>
<p>The <em>WSJ</em> reports on a lesser-known &quot;surge&quot;—the resurgence of the Taliban in Afghanistan, where Defense Secretary Robert Gates says the U.S. should send more troops to combat the erosion of President Hamid Karzai's government. The <em>LAT</em> also <a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-gates22dec22,1,2091718.story?ctrack=3&amp;cset=true">mentions</a> the story, but takes a less analytical approach:&nbsp;The&nbsp;<em>LAT</em>&nbsp;reports the fact that Gates has been pressuring NATO to be more active in combat operations without the <em>WSJ</em>'s note that such efforts have been completely unsuccessful. The&nbsp;<em>WSJ </em>also remarks on Gates' changes in tone, observing that the secretary recently said that he &quot;understood it would be politically difficult for many allies to significantly expand their presence in Afghanistan or take on additional combat duties.&quot; Deployment would be at least several months away and, Gates said, probably not a very controversial move.</p>
<p>Regional stories get front-page play in the <em>LAT</em>, specifically Gov. Schwarzenegger's budget plans that will, according to an anonymous insider, have interest groups &quot;squealing beyond belief.&quot; Most notably, the plan will repossess $1.4 billion previously budgeted to California schools, and calls for the release of thousands of inmates to slash prison costs. Despite a few obligatory statements of skepticism from Democratic state legislators, the <em>Times</em>' report is free of the vehement opposition such a drastic plan would seem to incite. But it predicts Schwarzenegger will face an uphill battle, particularly on his cuts to schools, as &quot;school districts are still nursing the wounds of 2004, when the governor deferred pledges to restore education funding that they agreed to surrender.&quot;</p>
<p>The Federal Election Commission—with a majority of its seats unfilled due to political squabbling over President Bush's appointees to the positions—will go dark at the end of the year, according to a page-one <em>WP</em> <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/21/AR2007122102299.html">story</a>. The FEC will begin 2008 with only two of its six members, too few for the commission to take any official action. &quot;Although the 375 auditors, lawyers and investigators at the FEC will continue to process work already before them, a variety of matters that fall to the commissioners will be placed on hold indefinitely,&quot; the story reports.</p>
<p>A sprawling <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/22/us/politics/22huckabee.html">overview</a> of Mike Huckabee's political history begins on the <em>NYT</em>'s front page, claiming that the rising presidential contender &quot;produced a legacy like few other Republican governors in the South, surprising even liberal Democrats with his willingness to upend some of Arkansas's more parochial traditions.&quot; Huckabee's occasionally drastic and occasionally party-bucking policies transformed Arkansas' education and health care, rendering him an &quot;unquantifiable presence in the state capital.&quot; Elsewhere on the presidential candidate trail, the <em>LAT</em> <a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/front/la-na-emily22dec22,1,3442626.story?coll=la-headlines-frontpage&amp;ctrack=2&amp;cset=true">fronts</a> a story on three PACs that are pouring last-minute money and resources—such as targeted Google advertising—into Hillary Clinton's Iowa campaign. These donors have increased Clinton's army of workers in the state to twice the number claimed by Barack Obama, a fact that is stirring some concern in the Obama camp. </p>
<p>In the midst of some heavy Saturday news, the papers find room on their front pages for some worthwhile (and quite amusing) holiday stories: The <em>WSJ</em> <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB119829714746346773.html">traces</a> the history of the much-reviled fruitcake, and lays down a few ground rules for making a good one; the <em>WP</em> <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/21/AR2007122102612.html">fronts</a> the hilariously heartwarming story of two Severn Avenue neighbors carrying on an epic battle of Christmas lights. </p>Sat, 22 Dec 2007 11:36:00 GMThttp://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/todays_papers/2007/12/never_enough.htmlDavid Sessions2007-12-22T11:36:00ZNews and PoliticsThe&nbsp;Sept. 11 commission says the C.I.A.&nbsp;intentionally blocked their investigation.2180822David SessionsToday's Papershttp://www.slate.com/id/2180822falsefalsefalseScandal in the South Pacifichttp://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/other_magazines/2007/12/scandal_in_the_south_pacific.html
<p>Today, Other Magazines reads through the <em>Economist</em>, <em>n+1</em>, the <em>New York Times Magazine</em>, <em>Time</em>, and <em>Vanity Fair</em> to find out what's worth your time—and what's not.</p>
<p><strong></strong></p>
<p><strong>Must Read<br /></strong>An impossible-to-put-down <em>Vanity Fair</em> feature chronicles the sex scandal that has rocked Pitcairn, the tiny Pacific island where the <em>Bounty</em> mutineers sought refuge in the late 18<sup>th</sup> century. Technically a British colony, Pitcairn is so isolated that the residents—fewer than 50 of them—developed their own mores, like the practice that eventually got &quot;six men—a third of the island's adult male population&quot; arrested: sexually initiating island lassies before the age of 12.—<em>J.L.</em></p>
<p><strong>Best International Story<br /></strong><em>Time</em>'s Person of the Year award goes to Russian President Vladimir Putin, who is transforming Russia into &quot;one of the great powers of the new world.&quot; The excellent <a href="http://www.time.com/time/specials/2007/personoftheyear/article/0,28804,1690753_1690757_1690766,00.html">cover story</a> offers an up-close look at the steely leader, who's been growing increasingly indifferent to the West as he finds his footing.<em>—D.S.</em></p>
<p><strong>Best Campaign Story<br /></strong>The<em> New York Times Magazine</em> finds new ground in the seemingly inexhaustible story of the Clinton Conundrum—that is, to what degree will voters consider Hillary Clinton's bid a return to her husband's presidency? Verdict: At the end of the day, Democrats still love Bill.<em>—C.W.</em><strong>&nbsp;</strong></p>
<p><strong>Best Health Article<br /></strong>The <em>Economist</em> looks at California's effort to ensure that all its residents have health insurance by the year 2010 and what it means for the presidential campaign: Hillary Clinton and John Edwards have proposed similar reforms, while Barack Obama opposes requiring citizens to have health insurance. Clinton, in fact, has already used Schwarzenegger's line &quot;that the current system, in which many of the uninsured receive free health care in emergency rooms, is a 'hidden tax.' &quot;—<em>E.G.</em><em>&nbsp;</em></p>
<p><strong>Best Iraq-War Piece<br /></strong>A brief <a href="http://www.time.com/time/specials/2007/personoftheyear/article/0,28804,1690753_1695388_1695379,00.html">profile</a> of Gen. David Petraeus in <em>Time</em> summarizes the events of the Iraq war under his command. &quot;Petraeus has not failed, which, given the anarchy and pessimism of February, must be considered something of a triumph.&quot;<em>—D.S.</em><strong>&nbsp;</strong></p>
<p><strong>Best Feature<br /></strong>In a provocative article, <em>n+1 </em>looks into the face of Seung-Hui Cho—the 23-year-old Virginia Tech student who killed 32 people before killing himself—and reports back. Some people, the article contends, are essentially unlovable, as &quot;they aren't appealing on the outside, and that once you dig into the real person … you find the real inner ugliness.&quot;—<em>E.G.</em></p>
<p><strong>Best Business Piece<br /></strong>&quot;Trouble Brewing&quot; for American beer drinkers, <a href="http://www.economist.com/world/na/displaystory.cfm?story_id=10337782">says</a> the <em>Economist</em>: As farmers in the Pacific Northwest turn to more lucrative crops like corn, hop production in the region has dropped by 50 percent in the past decade. Small craft breweries and microbreweries have been forced to raise prices or shut down production, and even industry giant Anheuser-Busch has upped the price of a six-pack.—<em>E.G.</em></p>
<p><strong>Best Science Article<br /></strong>The <em>Economist</em> <a href="http://www.economist.com/science/displaystory.cfm?story_id=10319225">observes</a> the mixed reaction to the successful sequencing of the pinot noir genome. The possibility of genetically modified grapes able to grow in regions currently inhospitable is appealing to many producers. But, the article suggests, European consumers, who are so territorial of their <em>terroir</em>, may be more hesitant to embrace these supergrapes.—<em>E.G.</em></p>
<p><strong>Best Piece for Word Lovers<br /></strong>William Safire, in his &quot;On Language&quot; column in the <em>New York Times Magazine</em>, reviews his favorite reader corrections and miscorrections (or is it incorrections?) and traces the etymology of a few newcomers to the scene, like <em>e-maelstrom</em>.<em>—C.W.</em></p>
<p><strong>Best Culture Piece<br /></strong>After reading several &quot;how to read&quot; guides, <em>n+1</em> observes that Harold Bloom and his cohorts forget that the joy of reading is derived from &quot;a certain experience of freedom&quot; in which we begin to discover our true selves. The article urges us to preserve the autonomy of novels and poems &quot;because it might be our last best chance to attain our own autonomy.&quot;—<em>E.G.</em></p>
<p><strong>Best Photo Essay<br /></strong>The <em>New York Times Magazine</em> prints four images of designers attempting to channel their visions of utopia through clothes. What the images lack in sheer intensity, they make up with the weirdness of the characters.<em>—C.W.</em></p>
<p><strong>Best Holiday Piece<br /></strong>In an <a href="http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1697404,00.html">essay</a> from <em>Time</em>, a Muslim resident of Bethlehem relives scenes from his childhood, when Muslim and Christian children played and even worshipped together, and looks for peace in the hostility that now besets the town of Jesus' birth.<em>—D.S.</em></p>
<p><strong>Best Cocktail-Party Factoid<br /></strong>This fall, the <em>Economist</em> <a href="http://www.economist.com/world/asia/displaystory.cfm?story_id=10329261">reports</a>, a district court ruled in favor of a wife's claim that her husband had been worked to death: Before collapsing at his job, he had worked 80 hours of overtime every month for six months. Since being recognized by the Japanese government as an official cause of death in the 1980s, <em>karoshi</em>—death by overwork—has become increasingly common.—<em>E.G.</em></p>Fri, 21 Dec 2007 20:50:00 GMThttp://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/other_magazines/2007/12/scandal_in_the_south_pacific.htmlElizabeth GumportJuliet LapidosDavid SessionsChris Wilson2007-12-21T20:50:00ZVanity Fair on the rape allegations that disrupted life for Pitcairn Island.News and PoliticsWhat's worth reading in the Economist, Time, the New York Times Magazine, and more.2180784Elizabeth GumportJuliet LapidosDavid SessionsChris WilsonOther Magazineshttp://www.slate.com/id/2180784falsefalsefalseBill and George's Not So Likely Adventurehttp://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/todays_blogs/2007/12/bill_and_georges_not_so_likely_adventure.html
<p>Bloggers flay Bill Clinton for his comments that Hillary, if elected, would send him and the first President Bush to clean up after George W. They also respond to the news Fidel Castro is pondering retirement, as well as the return of Jay Leno and&nbsp;Conan O'Brien.</p>
<p><em>Bill and George's not so likely adventure</em>: Bill Clinton <a href="http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2007/12/18/bill-clinton-george-hw-bush-will-help-president-hillary/">said Monday</a> that the &quot;first thing&quot; Hillary would do as president would be to send him on a world tour with fellow former President George H.W. Bush to fix the bad reputation the United States has garnered&nbsp; under the current President Bush. Predicting that Bush 41 would quickly shoot down the idea (<a href="http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2007/12/18/elder-bush-nixes-clinton-trip-idea/">he did</a>), bloggers of all political stripes questioned Clinton's commitment to his wife's campaign. </p>
<p>Jim Geraghty at the conservative <em>National Review</em>'s <strong>Campaign Spot</strong>, <a href="http://campaignspot.nationalreview.com/post/?q=Yzk1NzY5N2ExNzFhNjVjOTUyMTAwMjhlNmNkODU0Njc=">holds up</a> the comment as further evidence that Bill Clinton isn't watching what he's saying on Hillary's campaign trail. Clinton is &quot;used to getting away with little white lies,&quot; and, unfortunately for him, he is a &quot;<em>1992 media-loves-me-and-doesn't-check-my-facts</em> kind of guy in a 2007-2008 world.&quot; Similarly, <strong>Jack Risko </strong>at the right-leaning <strong>Dinocrat</strong> <a href="http://www.dinocrat.com/archives/2007/12/18/looking-out-for-number-one/">wonders</a>: &quot;Did Bill Clinton consult with either (a) his wife; or (b) Bush 41, before he gave that response?&quot; </p>
<p>Others are cueing the <em>Dynasty</em> soundtrack. At the nonpartisan group blog<strong> Political Inquirer</strong>, Fooser <a href="http://politicalinquirer.com/2007/12/18/the-bushclinton-dynasty-working-together/">speculates</a>: &quot;It's getting pretty clear these days that the Bush/Clinton dynasty is more than just two families who happen to get elected one after the other, but they are actually working together and actively providing help to one another despite their supposed policy differences.&quot; Modemocrat, at the lefty <strong>Daily Kos</strong>, <a href="http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2007/12/17/231335/19">isn't happy</a>, either: &quot;This is CHANGE? … Not only is this totally implausible and impractical that 83-year-old Bush I is going to admit his son's failings and accomplish all that much to fix them. … I don't think running on the record of the Bush-Clinton dynasty is a winning strategy for Democrats in 2008.&quot; <strong>TalkingPointsMemo</strong>'s <strong>Eric Kleefeld</strong> <a href="http://tpmelectioncentral.com/2007/12/bill_clinton_hillary_will_call_upon_bush_41.php">points out</a> that a simple denial from Bush 41 will prove Bill a bluffer. &quot;And beyond that, do Democratic activists really want to hear that someone named George Bush will be recruited to assist in Hillary's foreign policy?&quot;</p>
<p>Conservative <strong>JammieWearingFool</strong> is <a href="http://jammiewearingfool.blogspot.com/2007/12/bill-clinton-bush-41-will-help-hillary.html">full of zingers</a>, doubting there's anything the elder Bush can do to help &quot;unless he recently became a plastic surgeon.&quot; The righties at <strong>Pamibe</strong> <a href="http://www.pamibe.com/?p=1785">are, too</a>, but they turn the heat back on Bill: &quot;Bill Clinton really doesn't want the little woman to succeed, does he? … I love the smell of sabotage in the morning.&quot; A self-described &quot;liberal Christian&quot; at <strong>Ablogination</strong> <a href="http://ablogination.tn420.org/blog/index.php">sees further evidence</a> for a previously argued point: &quot;You've read me state that there is not enough difference between the Bush family and the Clinton family, that a vote for Hillary is a vote for Bush. … Well, Bill Clinton agrees with us. Now what do you have to say?&quot; </p>
<p>Read <a href="http://technorati.com/search/bill+clinton+bush+hillary+comments?authority=a4&amp;language=en">more</a> about Bill Clinton's comments.</p>
<p><em>&quot;Clinging&quot; no more: </em>In a <a href="http://www.nwherald.com/articles/2007/12/18/news/nation_and_world/doc4767a491defb4876869509.txt">note</a> read on Cuban television, decrepit Cuban dictator Fidel Castro indicated that he did not intend to &quot;cling&quot; to power forever, hinting that he might be stepping down soon. Bloggers retort that they've heard all that before, and they'll believe it when they see it. </p>
<p>On <em>Reason</em>'s <strong>Hit &amp; Run</strong>, David Weigel<strong></strong> <a href="http://www.reason.com/blog/show/123993.html">analyzes the note</a> and wonders what a Castro retirement would mean for the 2008 presidential election: &quot;The image of Cuba's power structure as a decrepit Fidel-Raul consulship isn't quite true, and there are relatively young thugs who could take power from Castro. (I wonder if the election-swinging GOP vote in Florida would be quite as hot to turn out if Castro resigned before November 2008.)&quot;</p>
<p>But anti-Castro blogger Charlie Bravo at <strong>KillCastro</strong> <a href="http://killkasstro.blogspot.com/2007/12/retirement-and-other-myths.html">isn't buying it</a>: &quot;The mainstream media is over reacting, reading this as a retirement announcement when it's simply the contrary. This guy's not relinquishing to power. He's clinging to power. … He 'writes' a lengthy letter, and includes these lines at the end, and wow, it's like the world is coming to a stop. Do not forget that this is not about Fidel Castro being dead or alive, this is about the freedom and the future of a 12 million people nation, without space for another Fidel Castro.&quot; <strong>William K. Wolfrum</strong>, a freelance writer in Brazil, <a href="http://www.williamkwolfrum.com/2007/12/18/having-been-dead-since-april-fidel-castro-announces-he-will-not-cling-to-leadership/">has a lighter take</a>: &quot;The letter sent McDonald's stock soaring, as the hamburger chain already has 7,000 prefabricated fast food joints ready to dot the island of Cuba the moment they finally admit that Castro is no more.&quot;</p>
<p>Henry &quot;Conductor&quot; Gomez, at the anti-Castro blog <strong>Babalu</strong>, takes the opportunity to <a href="http://www.babalublog.com/archives/006869.html">remind</a> the blogosphere what living under Castro is like: &quot;Next time you talk to a Castro apologist, tell them to imagine the best president that they have ever known in their lifetime. And then ask them how they'd feel if that president was in power for 49 years. I think most people would say that 49 years, or 40, or 30, or 25, or 20 is too long even if he's extremely popular. Then ask the Fidelista what it might be like to live under the worst president they've ever known (no doubt they will say George W. Bush) for 49 years.&quot;</p>
<p>Read <a href="http://technorati.com/search/fidel+castro+power?authority=a4&amp;language=en">more</a> about Fidel Castro's &quot;retirement.&quot; </p>
<p><em>Striking a deal</em>: NBC late-night stars Conan O'Brien and Jay Leno <a href="http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117977838.html?categoryid=2821&amp;cs=1">will return to their programs</a> on Jan. 2, without writers, as the writers' strike continues.</p>
<p><strong>Defamer</strong> <a href="http://defamer.com/hollywood/the-return-of-late-night/letterman-may-go-back-to-work-with-writers-while-returning-conan-and-leno-go-it-alone-334873.php">opens the discussion</a> with a prediction for Obrien's re-debut: &quot;We're sure that O'Brien's forced return to work will be an emotionally stirring affair; once he finishes apologizing to his audience for the shortfall in quality that will inevitably plague his writerless product, he'll be joined on stage by the Masturbating Bear, a member of his late night family who'll continue to be adversely affected by his joke-writing staff's absence.&quot;</p>
<p>On <strong>Top of the Ticket</strong>, the political blog of the <em>Los Angeles Times</em>, Joe Matthews <a href="http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/washington/2007/12/for-leno-letter.html">suggests</a> that the return of the late-hour jokesters might shake up the presidential race: &quot;Fresh versions of their shows have been one of the victims of the strike by the Writers Guild of America. So for several weeks, presidential candidates who say something silly or are the subject of embarrassing revelations may have been hurt—but they haven't become a national punchline.With the various talk-show hosts pursuing ways to return to the air even as the strike continues, that should change.&quot; </p>
<p>Read <a href="http://technorati.com/search/o'brien+leno+return?authority=a4&amp;language=en">more</a> about the return of the late-night hosts.</p>Tue, 18 Dec 2007 23:44:00 GMThttp://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/todays_blogs/2007/12/bill_and_georges_not_so_likely_adventure.htmlDavid Sessions2007-12-18T23:44:00ZNews and PoliticsBill Clinton's latest campaign gaffe.2180352David SessionsToday's Blogshttp://www.slate.com/id/2180352falsefalsefalseGod and Politicshttp://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/other_magazines/2007/12/god_and_politics.html
<p>Today, Other Magazines reads <em>Newsweek</em>, <em>New York</em>, <em>The New Yorker</em>, and the <em>Weekly Standard</em> to find out what's worth your time—and what's not.</p>
<p><strong> Must Read</strong> In the <em>Weekly Standard</em>'s <a href="http://weeklystandard.com/Check.asp?idArticle=14484&amp;r=tthrj">cover story</a>, an ex-Mormon passionately condemns the religious bickering between Mitt Romney and his evangelical opponents. It is &quot;unfortunate that the issue of religious tolerance should arise in a morally and intellectually underwhelming debate between unworthy Christian evangelicals and an opportunistic Mormon,&quot; the piece laments.<em>—D.S.</em></p>
<p><strong>Must Skip<br /></strong>Caleb Crain writes a <a href="http://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/atlarge/2007/12/24/071224crat_atlarge_crain">4,500-word lament</a> in <em>The</em><em>New Yorker</em> on the decline of reading. While as chilling as every other essay on how no one reads books any more, its impact is diminished by clunkers like this: &quot;Emotional responsiveness to streaming media harks back to the world of primary orality, and, as in Plato's day, the solidarity amounts almost to a mutual possession.&quot;<em>—C.W.</em></p>
<p><strong>Best Front-of-Book Piece<br /></strong><em>Newsweek</em> <a href="http://www.newsweek.com/id/78241">investigates</a> claims that, while governor of Arkansas, Mike Huckabee fired the director of the state police for refusing to officially deny prosecuting Huckabee's son on charges of animal cruelty. The report, which has been picked up by other news outlets, has the graphic details on allegations that in 1998, a 17-year-old David Huckabee hanged a stray dog from a tree.<em>—C.W.</em></p>
<p><strong>Best Campaign Piece<br /></strong><em>New York </em> <a href="http://nymag.com/news/politics/powergrid/42083/">finds</a> an early predecessor to Mike Huckabee in Pat Buchanan: Both experienced a &quot;rapid rise&quot; after being written off, and both owe this surge to their &quot;organic, potent connection to the Christian right&quot; and &quot;populist economic thrust.&quot;—<em>E.G.</em></p>
<p><strong>Best Anti-Trend Piece<br /></strong>An <a href="http://weeklystandard.com/Check.asp?idArticle=14483&amp;r=creah">article</a> in the <em>Weekly Standard</em> argues that &quot;reports of the demise of social conservatism have been greatly exaggerated.&quot; Reaching broadly into Western political history, the writer explains that social conservatism is a response to the social-issues definition of the left, and &quot;continues to be the essential building block of republican presidential majorities.&quot;<em>—D.S.</em></p>
<p><strong>Best Foreign-Policy Piece<br /></strong>An <a href="http://weeklystandard.com/Check.asp?idArticle=14491&amp;r=xtmfg">item</a> in the <em>Weekly Standard</em> wonders what Iraq's silent boycott of the Annapolis peace summit—even after much courting by the United States—says about Iran's continued influence on the country.<em>—D.S.</em></p>
<p><strong>Best Business Piece<br /></strong><em>Newsweek</em>'s Stephen Levy <a href="http://www.newsweek.com/id/78152/page/">ponders</a> the &quot;peachfuzz billionaires&quot; of Silicon Valley and the social computing boom. Levy, who summarizes the movement as &quot;Don't Fund Anyone Over 30,&quot; notes that a lot of innovation is driven by youthful ignorance to the low probability of success. But there's still hope for the graybeards: TiVo, after all, was created by two guys over 35.<em>—C.W.</em></p>
<p><strong>Best Culture Piece<br /></strong><em>The</em><em>New Yorker</em> dotes on the <a href="http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2007/12/24/071224fa_fact?currentPage=1">sweet-and-sour relationship</a> between celebrated short-story writer Raymond Carver and his editor, Gordon Lish, whose drastic omissions are often cited as crucial to forging Carver's reputation as a minimalist. (His penchant for red pen also eventually ended their friendship.)<em>—C.W.</em></p>
<p><strong>Best Art Story<br /></strong><em>Newsweek</em> <a href="http://www.newsweek.com/id/78149">chronicles</a> one of the world's most successful art forgery studios. It took a mistake in the cuneiform on a supposed Assyrian relief, spotted by an official at a British museum, for Scotland Yard to finally nab the forgers, who are estimated to have made as much as $4 million off fake masterpieces.<em>—C.W.</em></p>
<p><strong>Best Photo Spread<br /></strong><em>New York</em> captures the men and women who &quot;keep the city fed, housed, and healthy.&quot; The undocumented workers, wishing to remain anonymous, are seen only from the neck down; the piece includes images of a hand ladling soup, and a garbage can that, at first glance, seems to be emptying itself.—<em>E.G.</em></p>
<p><strong>Best Review<br /></strong>In the <em>Weekly Standard</em>, <strong><em>Slate</em></strong> contributor Christopher Hitchens <a href="http://weeklystandard.com/Check.asp?idArticle=14472&amp;r=tdkni">reviews</a> Eric Felten's <em>How's Your Drink? Cocktails, Culture and the Art of Drinking Well</em>. Hitchens pats Felten on the back for a &quot;muscular&quot; argument against &quot;sickly&quot; drink-naming trends, and calls his book &quot;a superb guide to the world of the cocktail, and a handsome tribute to the bold society that produced it.&quot;<em>—D.S.</em></p>
<p><strong>Best Quote<br /></strong>When <em>New York</em> asks a 3-year-old why she is reading the children's book <em>How To Build a Snowman</em>, she responds, &quot;I want to build a snowman.&quot;—<em>E.G.</em></p>Tue, 18 Dec 2007 21:01:00 GMThttp://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/other_magazines/2007/12/god_and_politics.htmlElizabeth GumportDavid SessionsChris Wilson2007-12-18T21:01:00ZThe Weekly Standard on the &quot;religious showdown&quot; between Mitt Romney and evangelicals.News and PoliticsWhat's worth reading in Newsweek, New York, The New Yorker, and the Weekly Standard.2180317Elizabeth GumportDavid SessionsChris WilsonOther Magazineshttp://www.slate.com/id/2180317falsefalsefalseNativist Americanshttp://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/other_magazines/2007/12/nativist_americans.html
<p>Today, Other Magazines scans through <em>Newsweek</em>, <em>New York</em>, <em>The New Yorker</em>, and the <em>Weekly Standard</em> to find out what's worth your time—and what's not.</p>
<p><strong></strong></p>
<p><strong>Must Read<br /></strong>An <a href="http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2007/12/17/071217fa_fact_lizza">article</a> in <em>The</em><sup></sup><em>New Yorker</em> searches for the answers to why some Republican presidential candidates are campaigning on a strongly anti-immigration platform. The piece, which includes casual interviews with all of the major candidates, discovers who is following the polls at the expense of their party's image and who is trying to take a principled stand.<em>—D.S.</em></p>
<p><strong>Worst Cover Story<br /></strong><em>Newsweek</em>'s cover story <a href="http://www.newsweek.com/id/74472/">frets</a> over &quot;Holy War&quot; in Iowa, where Southern Baptist Mike Huckabee and Mormon Mitt Romney are battling for the GOP nomination. Doing little to convince that the intensity of rhetoric registers as &quot;war,&quot; the article can't decide if it's between Mormons and Evangelicals or believers and atheists.—<em>J.M.</em></p>
<p><strong>Best Inside Politics<br /></strong>The <em>Weekly Standard</em> checks in on John Kyl, the junior senator from Arizona with a Dick Cheney-like reluctance for public appearances whose <a href="http://www.weeklystandard.com/Check.asp?idArticle=14459&amp;r=qrgyh">successful backroom machinations</a> have earned him the nickname &quot;The Operator.&quot;—<em>B.F.</em></p>
<p><strong>Best Quote<br /></strong>In <em>Newsweek</em>'s <a href="http://www.newsweek.com/id/74471">interview</a> of GOP presidential contender Ron Paul, answering a question about the limits of the Second Amendment, Paul goes obvious: &quot;If you live next door to me and I thought you were working on a 500-ton bomb, I would say there's a clear and present danger.&quot;<em>—J.M.</em></p>
<p><strong>Best Culture Piece<br /></strong><em>The</em><em>New Yorker</em> charts the downfall of Getty Museum curator Marion True, who once spoke at archaeology conferences about museum trafficking. When True found herself accused of participating in &quot;one of the greatest thefts against the Italian state ever recorded&quot;—tens of millions of dollars in ancient artifacts—her life changed forever.<em>—D.S.</em></p>
<p><strong>Most Comprehensive End-of-Year Culture List<br /></strong><em>New York</em>'s <a href="http://nymag.com/arts/cultureawards/2007/main/">cover story</a> extensively documents what its critics deem the best and worst in 2007's architecture, art, books, dance, movies, theater, and TV.—<em>M.S.</em></p>
<p><strong>Best Public-Service Piece<br /></strong><em>Newsweek</em> tells the <a href="http://www.newsweek.com/id/74385/page/1">stories</a> of American families &quot;overwhelmed&quot; after adopting foreign children whose histories of violence, abuse, and neglect have left them unable to bond with their new parents. A combination of adoption agency chicanery and uninformed parents leads many to adopt &quot;problem children&quot; without knowing the risks.<em>—J.M.</em></p>
<p><strong>Best Crime Piece<br /></strong><em>New York</em> <a href="http://nymag.com/news/features/41826/?imw=Y">profiles</a> in detail the charges against mogul Jeffery Epstein, who is rumored to have paid barely legal (and some not-so-legal) girls to &quot;massage&quot; him in his Palm Beach, Fla., mansion. The piece speculates on Epstein's lifestyle: &quot;His wealth seems to have endowed him with utter shamelessness, the emperor's new clothes with an erection.&quot;—<em>M.S.</em></p>
<p><strong>Best Web Feature<br /></strong><em>Newsweek</em> <a href="http://www.newsweek.com/id/74193">publishes</a> a slide show to accompany its piece about an attic in a former asylum in upstate New York. The slide show shows images of patients' belongings as it tells the story of early-20<sup>th</sup>-century mental-illness treatment.<em>—J.M.</em></p>
<p><strong>Best Humor Piece<br /></strong>The <em>Weekly Standard</em>'s back-page parody <a href="http://weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/014/465xgnpz.asp">serves up</a> Mitt Romney's notes on an early draft of the &quot;religious rainbow&quot; section of his address last week, highlighting how bad it could have been—and just how bad it really was.—<em>B.F.</em></p>
<p><strong>Best Line<br /></strong>In <em>The</em><em>New Yorker</em>, David Sedaris <a href="http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2007/12/17/071217fa_fact_sedaris">recalls</a>, &quot;I don't know why it was, exactly, but nothing irritated my father quite like the sound of his children's happiness.&quot;—<em>D.S.</em></p>
<p><strong>Best Seasonal Piece<br /></strong><em>New York </em> <a href="http://nymag.com/news/intelligencer/41839/">explains</a> why the strong Canadian dollar means hiked-up prices for New York Christmas tree buyers.—<em>M.S.</em></p>Tue, 11 Dec 2007 20:59:00 GMThttp://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/other_magazines/2007/12/nativist_americans.htmlBrad FloraJake MelvilleDavid SessionsMorgan Smith2007-12-11T20:59:00ZThe New Yorker on the Republican presidential candidates' new favorite issue: illegal immigration.News and PoliticsWhat's worth reading in Newsweek, New York, the Weekly Standard, and The New Yorker.2179760Brad FloraJake MelvilleDavid SessionsMorgan SmithOther Magazineshttp://www.slate.com/id/2179760falsefalsefalseGenius at Work?http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/other_magazines/2007/12/genius_at_work.html
<p>Today, Other Magazines reads through <em>Time</em>, the <em>Economist</em>, the <em>New York Times Magazine</em>, and the <em>Chronicle of Higher Education</em> to find out what's worth your time.</p>
<p><strong> Must Read</strong> A special issue of the <em>New York Times Magazine</em> recaps 70 ideas—ingenious, awful, influential, and just plain weird—from 2007. Selections include airborne wind turbines, schemes to extract vengeance through Craigslist, the collision of Facebook with genetics, and the connection between global warming and conflict.— <em>J.M.</em></p>
<p><strong>Best International Story<br /></strong>An <a href="http://economist.com/world/la/displaystory.cfm?story_id=10251226">article</a> in the <em>Economis</em>t hails the defeat of Hugo Ch&aacute;vez's &quot;21st century socialism&quot; revolution in Venezuela. His first-ever defeat in the national polls &quot;may also take much of the momentum out of his industrious efforts to form a regional block of allies and client states.&quot;<em>—D.S.</em></p>
<p><strong>Best War on Terror Story<br /></strong>A <em>Time</em> <a href="http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1691609-1,00.html">feature</a> investigates an &quot;important prototype&quot; for fighting terrorism post-9/11: turning illegal immigrants in trouble with the law into informers who quietly infiltrate potentially radical groups. It's &quot;a messy and unsatisfying ordeal, and possibly the best available option,&quot; the piece concludes.—<em>D.S.</em></p>
<p><strong>Best Immigration Piece<br /></strong>The <em>Chronicle of Higher Education </em> <a href="http://chronicle.com/free/v54/i15/15a02401.htm">profiles</a> two Texas universities who oppose the Department of Homeland Security's border fence, which would literally divide their bi-national campuses.—<em>M.S</em>.</p>
<p><strong>Best Campaign Piece<br /></strong>The <em>Economist</em> <a href="http://economist.com/world/na/displaystory.cfm?story_id=10251179">continues</a> to show love to GOP presidential hopeful John McCain. This time, the magazine compares him with the charming but &quot;woefully lacking in experience&quot; Mike Huckabee, concluding that &quot;presidential debate between Mr. Huckabee and Hillary Clinton would be a rout.&quot;—<em>D.S.</em></p>
<p><strong>Best Business Piece<br /></strong>The <em>New York Times Magazine</em> dissects the lexicon of the current lending crisis, examining the historical and linguistic roots of key terms such as <em>subprime</em>, <em>recession</em>, and <em>credit crunch</em>.<em>—</em><em>J.M.</em></p>
<p><strong>Best Culture Piece<br /></strong>The <em>Chronicle of Higher Education </em> <a href="http://chronicle.com/temp/reprint.php?id=9wk1wnkrfsst08mdb37rtngg18bs328d">investigates</a> why the blonde is such a &quot;pressing topic&quot; in American culture.—<em>M.S</em>.</p>
<p><strong>Best Religion Piece<br /></strong><em>Time</em> <a href="http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1692051,00.html">profiles</a> &quot;rock star&quot; pastor Rob Bell, who's being touted as the heir to Billy Graham. Bell has none of evangelicalism's high negatives with its younger generation—&quot;too judgmental, too political and too negative about homosexuality&quot;—and is rejuvenating evangelical youth with his &quot;combination of deep cultural savviness and deeper piety.&quot;<em>—D.S.</em></p>
<p><strong>Scariest Statistic<br /></strong>From the <em>New York Times Magazine</em>'s annual Idea Issue comes word of a terrifying new parasite: &quot;More than 60 million people in the United States are infected with a parasite that may migrate into their brains and alter their behavior in a way that … may leave them more likely to be eaten by cats.&quot;<em>—</em><em>J.M.</em></p>
<p><strong>Best Technology Piece<br /></strong>An <a href="http://economist.com/business/displaystory.cfm?story_id=10251308">article</a> in the <em>Economist</em> explains how a deal between the creators of two of the world's most popular video games, <em>Guitar Hero</em> and <em>World of Warcraft</em>, reflects the &quot;changing industry.&quot; Most interesting is the piece's observation about &quot;social gaming&quot;—how game creators are roping in casual, unskilled players with easy-to-pick-up, fun-in-a-group gaming experiences.<em>—D.S.</em></p>
<p><strong>Best Facebook Piece<br /></strong>The <em>Chronicle of Higher Education </em>looks at the risks of <a href="http://chronicle.com/temp/reprint.php?id=dydckfxbtsxr6p9qmxkz3y3lq72nttz7">student-professor friendships</a> &nbsp;on the social networking site.—<em>M.S</em>.</p>
<p><strong>Best Back-Page Feature<br /></strong>The <em>New York Times Magazine</em> closes its Ideas Issue with a chart with some of the oddest patents filed in the United States in 2007 and speculates about what problems that they might address. Examples include golf-ball lubricant, a combined pet carrier and gym bag, and the thong diaper.<em>—J.M</em></p>Fri, 07 Dec 2007 22:01:00 GMThttp://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/other_magazines/2007/12/genius_at_work.htmlJake MelvilleDavid SessionsMorgan Smith2007-12-07T22:01:00ZThe New York Times Magazine's annual issue on the best, worst, and oddest&nbsp;ideas of the year.News and PoliticsWhat's worth reading in Time, the Economist, and more.2179541Jake MelvilleDavid SessionsMorgan SmithOther Magazineshttp://www.slate.com/id/2179541falsefalsefalseIntruder Alerthttp://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/other_magazines/2007/12/intruder_alert.html
<p>Today, Other Magazines reads <em>The New Yorker</em>, <em>Newsweek</em>, <em>New York</em>, the <em>Weekly Standard</em>, the <em>New Republic</em>, and <em>Esquire</em> to find out what's worth your time—and what's not.</p>
<p><strong>Must Read</strong><br /><em>The New Yorker</em> eulogizes the eastern hemlock, which has been decimated by the woolly adelgid, an Asian parasite introduced to North America in the early 20<sup>th</sup> century. This kind of plague is not unusual: A number of other trees, including the American elm, have been devastated by non-native predators, whose rapid proliferation has been aided by increasingly warm winters.—<em>E.G.</em></p>
<p><strong>Must Skip<br /></strong>A <em>Newsweek</em> profile goes a little too far <a href="http://www.newsweek.com/id/73362">lionizing</a> Secretary of Defense Robert Gates for his quiet, moderate role &quot;as the best insurance that the Bush administration (read: Vice President Cheney) will not leave a legacy of ashes in Iran.&quot;—<em>J.M.</em></p>
<p><strong>Best Profile<br /></strong>The<em> New Republic</em> <a href="http://www.tnr.com/politics/story.html?id=a5b081d3-1a14-4137-a889-bcb8aae170ca&amp;p=1">goes</a> to the margins to paint a charming portrait of Republican presidential hopeless Duncan Hunter: &quot;Hunter's amiability may, one day, win him the kingdom of heaven, but in this kingdom he is a very poor man.&quot;—<em>G.H.</em></p>
<p><strong>Best Takedown<br /></strong><em>New York</em>'s <a href="http://nymag.com/news/features/41550/">cover story</a> tackles Rudy Giuliani's campaign-trail claims that he rescued the city from &quot;the hellhole of depravity and despair.&quot; The piece notes that yes, Giuliani rose to the occasion of 9/11, but &quot;New York from all the years in between, knows something else about his character. … If a crisis doesn't present itself, Rudy Giuliani can be counted on to create one.&quot;—<em>M.S.</em></p>
<p><strong>Best Foreign-Policy Piece<br /></strong>Novelist Khaled Hosseini pens an <a href="http://www.newsweek.com/id/73364">editorial</a> in <em>Newsweek</em> urging the American government to remain engaged in Afghanistan. Despite continuing hardships and a resurgent Taliban, he finds many reasons to be cautiously optimistic about the country's fate.<em>—J.M.</em></p>
<p><strong>Strangest Anecdote<br /></strong>In an otherwise thoughtful <em>Weekly Standard</em> remembrance for the late Sen. Henry Hyde, Fred Barnes <a href="http://www.weeklystandard.com/Check.asp?idArticle=14434&amp;r=oktsf">fondly recalls</a> the time Hyde silenced a pro-choice colleague by telling a fictitious story about being reared by strangers after his unmarried mother left him on their doorstep.—<em>B.F.</em></p>
<p><strong>Best Fact-Check<br /></strong><em>Newsweek</em> <a href="http://www.newsweek.com/id/73346">evaluates</a> statements from &quot;master spinners&quot; Bill Clinton and Karl Rove regarding their roles in the run up to the October 2002 vote for war with Iraq. It finds that both men aren't exactly telling the truth.—<em>J.M.</em></p>
<p><strong>Best Culture Piece<br /></strong>A <a href="http://www.esquire.com/features/man-at-his-best/punching1207">column</a> in <em>Esquire</em> advocates punching &quot;the sorts of assholes who not only act like assholes but celebrate their assholedom.&quot; Just like in the blogosphere (&quot;everybody thinks they're above being edited&quot;), our culture has developed far too much tolerance for the insistently uncivilized.<em>—D.S.</em></p>
<p><strong>Best Music Piece<br /></strong>A <em>Weekly Standard</em> survey of <a href="http://www.weeklystandard.com/Check.asp?idArticle=14435&amp;r=lzjpg">Pakistan's pop music scene</a>, which boomed after Musharraf privatized the nation's television networks but has since declined with the rise of militancy, focuses on a duo of Led Zeppelin-inspired hard-rock extremists.—<em>B.F.</em></p>
<p><strong>Most Appalling Writers' Strike Dispatch<br /></strong>In <em>New York</em>'s<em></em>Intelligencer section, chick-lit author Plum Sykes <a href="http://nymag.com/news/intelligencer/41565/">enlightens</a> readers on &quot;the fashion semiotics&quot; of the writers' strike (&quot;the best party in New York right now!&quot;). Her conclusion? &quot;The dime-store mac is so right for right now.&quot;—<em>M.S.</em></p>
<p><strong>Best Line<br /></strong>In conversation with <em>The New Yorker, </em>Harry Mount, author of <em>Carpe Diem: Put a Little Latin in Your Life</em>, declares, &quot;Doing Latin was a bit like wearing X-ray specs. … Everywhere I went, I had the pleasure of knowledge.&quot;—<em>E.G.</em></p>
<p><strong>Best Tech Story<br /></strong>The <em>Weekly Standard</em> looks at Google's plan to digitize <a href="http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/014/431afruv.asp">the 32 million books</a>, a seemingly great idea that has engendered more lawsuits and ill-will than anything else they've attempted.—<em>B.F.</em></p>
<p><strong>Best Editorial<br /></strong>The editors of the<em> New Republic</em> <a href="http://www.tnr.com/politics/story.html?id=3f6ac0c5-3515-400e-8eb6-796abe08ed86&amp;p=1">launch</a> a hearty defense of the fading book review, which they see as &quot;training for controversy, without which no open society and no open individual can flourish.&quot;—<em>G.H.</em></p>
<p><strong>Best Review<br /></strong><em>The New Yorker</em> <a href="http://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/atlarge/2007/12/10/071210crat_atlarge_menand">examines</a> several recently published diaries, including Arthur Schlesinger Jr.'s. If &quot;the obvious assumption is that we read diaries because we want to know what the diarist was really like as a person,&quot; the article wonders, how often do diaries fulfill this promise?—<em>E.G.</em></p>
<p><strong>Best Art Piece<br /></strong><em>Newsweek</em> <a href="http://www.newsweek.com/id/73349">mourns</a> the &quot;death of photography&quot; in an era of mass digitization, which facilitates manipulation of &quot;the truth.&quot;<em>—J.M.</em></p>
<p><strong>Best End-of-Year List<br /></strong>For <em>Esquire</em>'s December &quot;genius issue,&quot; the magazine hunted down 36 <a href="http://www.esquire.com/features/best-brightest-2007/bestandbrightest2007">risky, creative freethinkers</a> in education, science, business, and the arts who have each earned a moment in the spotlight.<em>—D.S.</em></p>Tue, 04 Dec 2007 20:48:00 GMThttp://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/other_magazines/2007/12/intruder_alert.htmlBrad FloraElizabeth GumportGarin HovannisianJake MelvilleDavid SessionsMorgan Smith2007-12-04T20:48:00ZThe New Yorker on how an Asian parasite has devastated America's eastern hemlock population.News and PoliticsWhat's worth reading in Newsweek, New York, the New Republic, etc.2179203Brad FloraElizabeth GumportGarin HovannisianJake MelvilleDavid SessionsMorgan SmithOther Magazineshttp://www.slate.com/id/2179203falsefalsefalseGreenback Goner?http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/other_magazines/2007/11/greenback_goner.html
<p>Today, Other Magazines reads the <em>Economist</em>, <em>Time</em>, the <em>New York Times Magazine</em>, <em>Reason</em>, and <em>Granta</em> to find out what's worth your time.</p>
<p><strong>Must Read</strong><br />Should you be worried about the slumping dollar? The <em>Economist</em> cover sees all the signs of a &quot;<a href="http://economist.com/opinion/displaystory.cfm?story_id=10215040">nasty crash</a>&quot; looming for the American currency and explains the ramifications.—<em>B.F.</em></p>
<p><strong>Best Politics Piece<br /></strong>An <a href="http://www.reason.com/news/show/123020.html">article</a> in the December issue of <em>Reason</em> argues that Democrats should emulate Moorfield Storey, a libertarian lawyer who died in 1929, and reclaim their reputations as socially tolerant, tough-on-government libertarians. Storey's positions are as right now as they were then: &quot;[H]e led opposition to a costly and unnecessary war, he stood against collectivism and racism, and he championed individual rights in every sphere of life.&quot;<em>—D.S.</em></p>
<p><strong>Best International Piece<br /></strong>An <a href="http://www.reason.com/news/show/123021.html">article</a> in the December issue of <em>Reason</em> uncovers the &quot;tyrannical roots&quot; of China's international adoption program, namely the country's &quot;one-child&quot; law that has resulted in millions of unwanted girls. The situation has been rewarding for American families looking to adopt overseas, but &quot;it will be a true victory for liberty when such heartwarming stories stop appearing on newsstands and bookshelves.&quot;<em>—D.S.</em></p>
<p><strong>Best Business Piece<br /></strong>&quot;Lured by immense patient populations ailing from both chronic and infectious diseases,&quot; large pharmaceutical companies are favoring China as a testing ground for new drugs, <em>Time</em> <a href="http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1684180,00.html">notes</a>. Some worry about intellectual property protection and tainted products, but others consider these doubts old-fashioned.—<em>E.G.</em></p>
<p><strong>Best Science Piece<br /></strong>The<em> New York Times Magazine</em> enters the unlikely fray between stray-cat lovers and birders. Birders fret that cats are contributing to the decimation of wild bird populations, and cat lovers, well, really like cats. Stakes have been raised to absurd levels by both sides seeking to protect &quot;their&quot; wildlife.—<em>J.M.</em></p>
<p><strong>Best Health Piece<br /></strong><em>Time</em> <a href="http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1689216,00.html"> reports</a> on the debate surrounding sensory processing disorder, an ailment frequently treated by occupational therapists but still unrecognized by the DSM-IV. The disorder is characterized by &quot;difficulty handling information that comes in through the senses&quot; and is distinct from ADHD and autism, which often include similar symptoms.—<em>E.G.</em></p>
<p><strong>Best Excerpt<br /></strong><em> <a href="http://www.granta.com/latest-issue">Granta</a></em> publishes an excerpt from <em>Gomorrah</em>, undercover journalist Roberto Saviano's upcoming book about the Neapolitan mafia.—<em>M.S.</em></p>
<p><strong>Best Historical Perspective<br /></strong>The <em>New York Times Magazine</em> notices that the Library of Congress will unveil a 500-year-old map believed to be the first printed appearance of the word <em>America</em> and ponders the term's history and meaning in a fascinating tale of collective mythology, skewed history, &quot;giants, cannibals, and sexually insatiable females.&quot;<em>—J.M.</em></p>
<p><strong>Best Christmas Piece<br /></strong>A <a href="http://www.reason.com/news/show/123017.html">column</a> in <em>Reason</em>'s December issue humorously identifies a new aspect of the war on Christmas—&quot;pop culture's war on secularists&quot;—observing that even nonreligious Americans have a deep affection for the Christmas holiday. Atheists, the writer argues, should embrace our modern, inclusive definitions of the holiday and fill their stockings &quot;with atheist junk that's as gloriously profane as the junk blessed by Jesus.&quot;<em>—D.S.</em></p>
<p><strong>Best Photo Spread<br /></strong><em> <a href="http://www.granta.com/latest-issue">Granta</a></em> presents a series of color photographs taken by Joel Sternfield during the 1970s that prove &quot;in thirty years, though styles of clothing may have changed, little else is significantly different; we can still feel the energy of the street, as well as the familiar sense of communal desperation.&quot;—<em>M.S.</em></p>
<p><strong>Best Vice Piece<br /></strong>The <em>Economist</em> assesses a <a href="http://economist.com/world/na/displaystory.cfm?story_id=10215078">publicity war</a> in California between a band of five Native American tribes looking to expand their casinos in exchange for paying more state taxes and their opponents, including the &quot;No on the Unfair Gambling Deals&quot; group, who say the new deal is unfair.—<em>B.F.</em></p>
<p><strong>Best Line<br /></strong>In an interview with <em>Time</em>, romance novelist Nora Roberts <a href="http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1689202,00.html">says</a> of her books, &quot;They're not just about naked pirates, although what's wrong with a naked pirate now and again?&quot;—<em><em>E.G.</em></em></p>Fri, 30 Nov 2007 21:32:00 GMThttp://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/other_magazines/2007/11/greenback_goner.htmlBrad FloraElizabeth GumportJake MelvilleDavid SessionsMorgan Smith2007-11-30T21:32:00ZThe Economist on what could happen if the dollar's value keeps dropping.News and PoliticsWhat's worth reading in Time, the New York Times Magazine, Reason, and more.2178954Brad FloraElizabeth GumportJake MelvilleDavid SessionsMorgan SmithOther Magazineshttp://www.slate.com/id/2178954falsefalsefalseGet On the Campaign Bushttp://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/explainer/2007/11/get_on_the_campaign_bus.html
<p> Last weekend, reporters learned that Rudy Giuliani had purchased three new buses, including a &quot;<a href="http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/11/26/on-the-road-giulianis-granite-bus-guide/index.html?ex=1353733200&amp;en=6e836b653d97c53e&amp;ei=5118&amp;partner=rssaol&amp;emc=rss">pretty nice maroon one</a>&quot; for the traveling press. Bus tours have been a colorful element of presidential-campaign theater for decades, and the travel experience has been glamorized by reporters like <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Boys-Bus-Timothy-Crouse/dp/0812968204/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&amp;s=books&amp;qid=1196267271&amp;sr=8-1">Timothy Crouse</a>, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Fear-Loathing-Campaign-Trail-72/dp/0446698229/ref=pd_bbs_2?ie=UTF8&amp;s=books&amp;qid=1196267121&amp;sr=8-2">Hunter S. Thompson</a>, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Up-Simba/dp/B000QCTP0S/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;s=books&amp;qid=1196267183&amp;sr=8-1">David Foster Wallace</a>, and <a href="http://www.indecision2008.com/motherload/player.jhtml?ml_video=119583&amp;ml_collection=&amp;ml_gateway=&amp;ml_gateway_id=&amp;ml_comedian=&amp;ml_runtime=&amp;ml_context=show&amp;ml_origin_url=%2Fmotherload%2Findex.jhtml%3Fml_video%3D119583%26ml_collection%3D%26ml_gateway%3D%26ml_c">Steve Carell</a>. So, how would a reporter go about getting a seat on Giuliani's sweet new ride?</p>
<p>Just call his press office. Staffers coordinate who gets to ride where, usually trying to maintain a balance between local reporters and national correspondents. The selection process is fairly informal: Campaign workers are already familiar with most of the reporters and bloggers who request a ride, but they might ask for some verification if you're working for a small or unknown publication. Even student journalists can sometimes get onboard if there's room. (Those who can't get official permission might try working the trail as a <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/3060429.stm">stowaway</a>.) </p>
<p>Reporters who pass muster with the press office are given a badge that sometimes includes the tour's slogan. The Giuliani campaign, like some others, charges members of the press for their bus seats—usually by dividing the total cost of operating the bus by the number of reporters and prorating the fee based on how much time each spends onboard. John McCain makes a special point of letting reporters ride for free, and even allows them to travel in the same bus that he does.</p>
<p>There are several reasons presidential candidates provide press buses, which vary according to the campaign. For one, it's a way to control access: If the reporters are all sequestered in one place, it assures they're out of the candidate's way except for scheduled announcements and interviews. For candidates who have <a href="http://www.treasury.gov/usss/protection.shtml">Secret Service protection</a>, like <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Secret_Service#Protection_of_former_Presidents_and_First_Ladies">Hillary Clinton</a> and <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/05/03/obama.protection/index.html">Barack Obama</a>, things operate more smoothly if reporters stay separated from the crowds of onlookers. </p>
<p>Press buses are also an effective way to entice coverage. In a small state like Iowa, campaign stops mostly take place in rural towns. Reporters who ride the campaign bus are spared the inconvenience of renting vehicles and taking long, time-consuming drives. </p>
<p>Got a question about today's news? <a href="mailto:ask_the_explainer@yahoo.com">Ask the Explainer</a>.</p>
<p><em>Explainer thanks <strong>Slate</strong>'s John Dickerson and Crystal Benton of the John McCain campaign.</em></p>Wed, 28 Nov 2007 23:05:00 GMThttp://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/explainer/2007/11/get_on_the_campaign_bus.htmlDavid Sessions2007-11-28T23:05:00ZHow reporters book their seats.News and PoliticsHow do reporters book their seats on a campaign bus?2178719David SessionsExplainerhttp://www.slate.com/id/2178719falsefalsefalseGod in Bulkhttp://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/other_magazines/2007/11/god_in_bulk.html
<p>Today, Other Magazines reads <em>The New Yorker</em>, <em>New York</em>, <em>Newsweek</em>, <em>Harper's</em>, <em>Texas Monthly</em>, and the <em>Weekly Standard</em> to find out what's worth your time—and what's not.</p>
<p><strong></strong></p>
<p><strong>Must Read<br /></strong><em>The New Yorker</em> traces the rise of a megachurch in New England, a region with just 12 congregations that exceed 2,000 worshippers. The article explores the origin of the megachurch, the forces that contribute to its success, and its opponents' critiques, including fundamentalists and Calvinists who deride them as &quot;market-driven churches that cater to the society's insatiable demand for entertainment.&quot;—<em>E.G.</em></p>
<p><strong>Best Profile<br /></strong>A <a href="http://www.texasmonthly.com/2007-12-01/feature2.php">profile</a> of Texas Sen. John Cornyn in the December <em>Texas Monthly</em> presents a detailed look at the roots of Cornyn's conservatism and how his role in the Senate will shift after Bush leaves office. No Texas politician profile is complete without an inescapable sport-shooting experience, and this reporter (&quot;improbably, impossibly&quot;) passed the test.<em>—D.S. </em></p>
<p><strong>Best Campaign Piece<br /></strong><em>Newsweek</em>'s cover <a href="http://www.newsweek.com/id/72121">examines</a> Rudy Giuliani's upbringing, surrounded by friends and relatives both &quot;good and bad,&quot; and how this exposure helps him see the often blurry line between saint and sinner.</p>
<p><strong>Best Campaign Review<br /></strong>The<em> Weekly Standard</em> <a href="http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/014/395tjeeb.asp">runs</a> a funny and intelligent review of&nbsp;campaign memoirs by current presidential candidates, including works by Christopher Dodd, Mike Huckabee, Mitt Romney, Hillary Clinton, and John Edwards. For all &quot;the puffery, the opportunism, the ambition,&quot; the article concludes, &quot;even politicians, even their ghostwriters, can't kill the campaign book.&quot;—<em>G.H.</em><strong>&nbsp;</strong></p>
<p><strong>Best Foreign Piece<br /></strong><em>Harper's</em> visits the newly discovered Archives of the Guatemalan National Police Force—the group responsible for many atrocities in the Dirty Wars of the 1970s and 1980s. The article, which features comments from victims' family members and former guerillas, uncovers a country slowly discovering the truth of the harrowing era.—<em>J.M.</em></p>
<p><strong>Most Controversial Statement<br /></strong>The<em> Weekly Standard</em> <a href="http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/014/405lrbpc.asp?pg=1">accuses</a> congressional Democrats of not only attempting to sabotage American victory in Iraq, but also being bad saboteurs. &quot;They tried, it is true, to do serious damage, but were compromised in the event by their chronic incompetence.&quot;—<em>G.H.</em></p>
<p><strong>Best Line<br /></strong><em>Harper's</em> publishes lawyer Clive Stafford Smith's snarky response to Navy allegations that he smuggled Speedos in to several Guantanamo Bay inmates. &quot;Mr. Aamer is hardly in a position to go swimming, since the only available water is in the toilet in his cell. … I presume that nobody thinks that Mr. Aamer wears Speedos while paddling in his privy.&quot;—<em>J.M.</em></p>
<p><strong>Scariest Statistic<br /></strong><em>The New Yorker</em> <a href="http://www.newyorker.com/talk/2007/12/03/071203ta_talk_mcgrath">reports</a>: &quot;A well-fed pigeon will produce twenty-five pounds of waste in a year, and there may be more than a million pigeons in New York.&quot;—<em>E.G.</em></p>
<p><strong>Best Sports Piece<br /></strong>A <a href="http://www.texasmonthly.com/preview/2007-12-01/thecheapseats">column</a> in <em>Texas Monthly</em> takes on bloated college athletics programs—particularly football—and reveals that coaches have more monetary incentives to win championships than to encourage their players to graduate. &quot;The business of college sports,&quot; the piece observes, &quot;is to help its fans forget that it's a business.&quot;<em>—D.S.</em></p>
<p><strong>Best Science Article<br /></strong><em>The New Yorker</em> <a href="http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2007/12/03/071203fa_fact_specter?currentPage=1">explores</a> paleovirology, &quot;which seeks to better understand the impact of modern diseases by studying the genetic history of ancient viruses.&quot; Resurrecting extinct retroviruses—viruses that copy their genetic information into cells' DNA—could help explain human evolution. &quot;Viruses,&quot; one researcher declares, &quot;may well be the unseen creator that most likely did contribute to making us human.&quot;—<em>E.G.</em></p>
<p><strong>Best Culture Piece<br /></strong><em>New York</em>'s <a href="http://nymag.com/beauty/features/41280/">cover story</a> investigates the ever-growing business of spa treatments and the ramifications of &quot;ritualistic grooming—that potent, mutual currency of female friendship—[becoming] an industry.&quot;—<em>M.S.</em></p>
<p><strong>Best Fiction<br /></strong>In <em>Harper's</em>, Nadine Gordimer imagines what it's like to be a tapeworm, and concludes that apart from being expelled from the host's body, life isn't so bad.—<em>J.M.</em></p>
<p><strong>Best Review<br /></strong><em>The New Yorker</em> <a href="http://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/atlarge/2007/12/03/071203crat_atlarge_buford">looks</a> at a number of new cookbooks, all &quot;remarkably alike in their gleeful chauvinism about being carnivores.&quot; One cookbook includes photographs of &quot;two men wearing sea urchins like sunglasses&quot; and &quot;pig heads arranged in a vat of boiling water so that they seem to be screaming.&quot;—<em>E.G.</em></p>
<p><strong>Best Pop-Culture Analysis<br /></strong>Examine the literary roots of <em>Gossip Girl</em> with <em>New York</em>'s <a href="http://nymag.com/arts/tv/features/41261/">Cliffs Notes</a> to the series. Whoever knew Prince Hal and Dorian Gray would make an appearance on the CW?—<em>M.S.</em><strong>&nbsp;</strong></p>
<p><strong>Best Letter-to-the-Editor Page<br /></strong><em>Texas Monthly</em>'s readers are bitterly divided over the magazine's editorial slant: One calls it a &quot;right wing rag,&quot; while another dismisses its &quot;overtly liberal tone.&quot;<em>—D.S.</em></p>
<p><strong>Best Cocktail-Party Factoid<br /></strong><em>Harper's</em> piece on the role of the mouse in medical testing highlights the wastefulness of the industry: &quot;[S]eventy percent of all male mice are euthanized before weaning&quot; because they are seen as &quot;too aggressive.&quot;—<em>J.M.</em></p>Tue, 27 Nov 2007 20:53:00 GMThttp://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/other_magazines/2007/11/god_in_bulk.htmlBrad FloraElizabeth GumportGarin HovannisianJake MelvilleDavid SessionsMorgan Smith2007-11-27T20:53:00ZThe New Yorker on the recent success of New England megachurches.News and PoliticsWhat's worth reading in Newsweek, the Weekly Standard, Harper's, and more.2178676Brad FloraElizabeth GumportGarin HovannisianJake MelvilleDavid SessionsMorgan SmithOther Magazineshttp://www.slate.com/id/2178676falsefalsefalseNewsweek's New Hireshttp://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/other_magazines/2007/11/newsweeks_new_hires.html
<p>Today, Other Magazines flips through <em>Newsweek</em>, <em>The New Yorker</em>, the <em>Weekly Standard</em>, <em>New York</em>, and <em>Vanity Fair</em> to find out what's worth your time—and what's not.</p>
<p><strong>Must Skip<br /></strong>Former Bush adviser Karl Rove pens a <a href="http://www.newsweek.com/id/71000">hatchet job</a> in <em>Newsweek</em> on &quot;how to beat Hillary&quot; next November. Meanwhile, DailyKos publisher Markos Moulitsas offers the <a href="http://www.newsweek.com/id/70978">obvious advice</a> to &quot;make the Bush record the issue&quot; that will defeat Republicans. Neither offers anything particularly insightful, choosing instead to devolve into partisanship.—<em>J.M.</em></p>
<p><strong>Best Campaign Piece<br /></strong>A <a href="http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2007/11/26/071126fa_fact_lizza"><em>New Yorker </em>feature</a> on Barack Obama's efforts to catch Clinton in the polls offers a detailed looks at exactly what he's doing to try and gain ground: painting himself as the only honest horse in the race.—<em>B.F.</em></p>
<p><strong>Best War Piece<br /></strong>An <a href="http://www.weeklystandard.com/Check.asp?idArticle=14368&amp;r=ixgbj">article</a> in the <em>Weekly Standard</em> examines the Human Terrain System, a method the U.S. Army uses in Afghanistan to overcome cultural barriers. The insightful eyewitness report reveals the system's inabilities to clear the biggest hurdles, like language and social status.<em>—D.S.</em></p>
<p><strong>Best Line<br /></strong>From George Packer's <a href="http://www.newyorker.com/talk/comment/2007/11/26/071126taco_talk_packer"><em>New Yorker </em>assessment</a> of the Republican presidential candidates: &quot;Off camera and in private, a few of the Republicans seem to understand that Bush has driven the country into a ditch. But, because the thirty per cent of Americans who remain die-hard Bush supporters have a death grip on their party, those candidates won't say so, choosing to repress their constructive impulses and sound as shallow and jingoistic as possible while campaigning.&quot;—<em>B.F.</em></p>
<p><strong>Best Economics Piece<br /></strong><em>Vanity Fair </em> <a href="http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/features/2007/12/bush200712">examines</a> the economic effects of Bush's presidency, arguing that they will take generations to reverse. The article reminds us that &quot;5.3 million more Americans are living in poverty now than were living in poverty when Bush became president,&quot; and class stratification is so severe that it is &quot;heading in the direction of Brazil's and Mexico's.&quot; Ultimately, the piece concludes, &quot;just as Guant&aacute;namo and Abu Ghraib have eroded America's moral authority, so the Bush administration's fiscal housekeeping has eroded our economic authority.&quot;—<em>E.G.</em></p>
<p><strong>Best Column<br /></strong>In <em>Newsweek</em>,<em></em>Fareed Zakaria <a href="http://www.newsweek.com/id/70991">examines</a> the difficulties faced by foreign travelers to the United States. While the declining value of the dollar should make America an attractive tourist destination for foreigners, he finds that bureaucratic fear of &quot;[letting] in the next terrorist&quot; has made traveling to this country a nightmare for many.<em>—J.M.</em></p>
<p><strong>Best Photo<br /></strong><em>Vanity Fair</em> <a href="http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/features/2007/12/kennerly200712">includes</a> a striking image from <em>Extraordinary Circumstances</em>, the upcoming collection from the Ford administration White House photographer David Hume Kennerly. The photograph, taken in a Los Angeles hotel room, features Gerald Ford and Ronald Reagan swathed in shadows, the lights of the city glimmering in the distance. At the time, Kennerly considered the picture too &quot;brooding&quot;; now it seems &quot;that darkness captured something of the spirit of the time,&quot; the encroaching gloom of inflation, defeat in Vietnam, and post-Watergate uncertainty.—<em>E.G.</em></p>
<p><strong>Best Profile <br /></strong><em>New York</em> <a href="http://nymag.com/news/features/41007/">tells</a> the fascinating story of the life—and bloody death—of Linda Stein, the Bronx woman who became the manager of the Ramones and &quot;realtor to the stars.&quot;—<em>G.H.</em></p>
<p><strong>Worst Profile<br /></strong><em>Vanity Fair</em> <a href="http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/features/2007/12/lakshmi200712">works</a> itself into a lather over <em>Top Chef </em>host Padma Lakshmi, calling her &quot;kittenish&quot; and anxiously analyzing her past relationship with Salman Rushdie in a standard, slavishly flattering puff piece. The article is all appetizer, no entr&eacute;e: At the beginning, she wears a white gown with &quot;a hint of nipple&quot;; at the end, she spoon-feeds Harvey Weinstein chocolate.—<em>E.G.</em></p>
<p><strong>Best Review<br /></strong>The <em>Weekly Standard</em> offers a withering <a href="http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Protected/Articles/000/000/014/365sdmst.asp">review</a> of <em>Beowulf</em>, complaining that &quot;never, in the annals of motion picture history, has an adaptation of a great work been run through the shredder quite as thoroughly.&quot; The piece particularly disdains director Robert Zemeckis' sweeping changes to the original story: &quot;Imagine a movie called <em>The Torah </em>that tells the story of creation from the perspective of Christopher Hitchens, and you might get a sense of the rather shocking transformation that takes place here.&quot;<em>—D.S.</em></p>
<p><strong>Worst Cultural Analysis<br /></strong><em>New York</em><em></em> <a href="http://nymag.com/arts/theater/features/40970/">navigates</a> through a tale of two strikes—those of the writers union and the stagehands union—and tries to uncover why public sympathy rests with the writers. It addresses underdog theories, PR strategies, and the media bias. But it leaves one explanation untouched: TV writers affect more people than stagehands.—<em>G.H.</em></p>
<p><strong>Best Media Article<br /></strong><em>Vanity Fair</em> <a href="http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/features/2007/12/wolff200712">declares</a> ours &quot;the age of the media gadget,&quot; detailing how the gadget has altered both the production and consumption of content. Yet in spite of the transformative &quot;power and supremacy of the gadget,&quot; the article suggests, all things come full circle: future gadgets may offer songs and videos for free. All you will have to do is watch an advertisement—just like television and radio.—<em>E.G.</em></p>
<p><strong>Best Cocktail-Party Factoid<br /></strong>From <em>Newsweek</em>'s intriguing piece on the <a href="http://www.newsweek.com/id/70983/page/1">death of the book</a> and the rise of the e-book: &quot;Only 57 percent of adults read a book—any book—in a year.&quot;<em>—J.M.</em></p>Tue, 20 Nov 2007 20:58:00 GMThttp://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/other_magazines/2007/11/newsweeks_new_hires.htmlBrad FloraElizabeth GumportGarin HovannisianJake MelvilleDavid Sessions2007-11-20T20:58:00ZKarl Rove and Markos Moulitsas make their respective debuts in Newsweek.News and PoliticsWhat's worth reading in The New Yorker, the Weekly Standard, and more.2178426Brad FloraElizabeth GumportGarin HovannisianJake MelvilleDavid SessionsOther Magazineshttp://www.slate.com/id/2178426falsefalsefalsePlaying in the Streethttp://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/other_magazines/2007/11/playing_in_the_street.html
<p>Today, Other Magazines reads through the <em>New York Times Magazine</em>, <em>Time</em>, the <em>Economist</em>, <em>Texas Monthly</em>, and the <em>Atlantic</em> to find out what's worth reading—and what's not.</p>
<p><strong></strong></p>
<p><strong>Must Read<br /></strong>The <em>New York Times Magazines</em> revisits the first episodes of <em>Sesame Street</em>, the packaging of which warns that the shows &quot;may not suit the needs of today's preschoolers.&quot; The writer discovers an abundance of &quot;disturbing&quot; content in early <em>Sesame Street, </em>such as one scene where &quot;two brothers risk concussion while whaling on each other with allergenic feather pillows.&quot;<em>—D.S.</em></p>
<p><strong>Most Pessimistic Editorial<br /></strong>The <a href="http://economist.com/opinion/displayStory.cfm?Story_ID=10134118">cover story</a> of the <em>Economist</em> predicts an economic recession for the United States and wonders if a slowing American economy will &quot;drag the rest of the world down with it.&quot;—<em>M.S.</em></p>
<p><strong>Best Statistics<br /></strong>In pursuit of the average American,<em> Time</em>'s cover story <a href="http://www.time.com/time/specials/2007/article/0,28804,1674995_1683300,00.html">looks</a> at &quot;America by the Numbers.&quot; The article is full of statistical jewels, including this peculiarity: &quot;[M]ore than 90% own a Bible, but only half can name a single Gospel, and 10% think Joan of Arc was Noah's wife.&quot;—<em>E.G.</em></p>
<p><strong>Strangest Endorsement<br /></strong>From the<em> Atlantic</em>'s cover, Andrew Sullivan <a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200712/obama">launches</a> an endorsement of Barack Obama. The reasoning? &quot;First and foremost: his face. Think of it as the most effective potential re-branding of the United States since Reagan.&quot;—<em>G.H.</em></p>
<p><strong>Best Political Piece<br /></strong>In <em>Texas Monthly</em>, <a href="http://www.texasmonthly.com/2007-11-01/friedman.php">Kinky Friedman</a> offers his suggestions for reforming the Texan political system based on his experience running for governor. Many of his solutions, such as reforming lobbyists and redistricting rules, would be well heeded on the national level as well.—<em>J.M.</em></p>
<p><strong>Best International Story<br /></strong>The<em> Atlantic </em> <a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200712/afghans">hosts</a> the story of a reporter who fell in love with Afghanistan, stayed there permanently, and exchanged her microphone for a small soap business that, in spite of an unimaginative American aid establishment, is doing well.—<em>G.H.</em></p>
<p><strong>Best Diplomacy Piece<br /></strong>The <em>Economist </em> <a href="http://economist.com/world/la/displaystory.cfm?story_id=10136471">offers</a> its take on the exchange between Spanish King Juan Carlos and Venezuelan President Hugo Ch&aacute;vez (where the king told Ch&aacute;vez to &quot;just shut up&quot;), noting the <a href="http://youtube.com/watch?v=X3Kzbo7tNLg">YouTube video</a> of the scene has &quot;brought delight to countless thousands who have suffered Mr Ch&aacute;vez's chronic verbal diarrhoea.&quot;—<em>M.S.</em></p>
<p><strong>Best Profile<br /></strong><em>Texas Monthly</em> <a href="http://www.texasmonthly.com/preview/2007-11-01/feature5">profiles</a> of Samir Patel, the &quot;Dan Marino&quot; of spelling bees. The article follows the five-time Scripps competitor as he prepares for his final spelling bee and discusses the pressure and disappointment of coming oh-so-close to winning time and again.—<em>J.M.</em></p>
<p><strong>Best Food Article<br /></strong>A <a href="http://economist.com/business/displaystory.cfm?story_id=10150360">piece</a> in the <em>Economist</em> notes rising commodities prices are melting Hershey's profits, forecasting that Mars, the company's closest competitor &quot;will continue to eat away at its market share—as it has done all this year.&quot;—<em>M.S.</em></p>
<p><strong>Best Architectural Piece<br /></strong><em>Texas Monthly</em> chronicles the rebirth of <a href="http://www.texasmonthly.com/2007-11-01/ennis.php">architectural modernism</a> by highlighting its resurgence in Dallas and Beijing. The article ascribes the rise to a desire &quot;to renew the optimism and progressive imagination of the mid-twentieth century&quot; in the face of new global fears and threats.—<em>J.M.</em></p>
<p><strong>Best Science Piece<br /></strong>An article in the <em>New York Times Magazine</em> investigates the mattress industry's insistence that sleep must be a prolonged period of &quot;nothingness&quot; and that our lack of sleep is a growing problem. History says otherwise: Uncomfortable conditions and erratic traditions have interrupted sleep for centuries. Those who tell you otherwise are trying to sell you a new mattress.—<em>D.S.</em></p>
<p><strong>Best Health Piece<br /></strong>The <em>Economist </em> <a href="http://economist.com/science/displaystory.cfm?story_id=10130882">examines</a> new studies that suggest a mother's stress level during conception affects a baby's sex. If conceived during times of distress, like after the loss of a loved one, during wartime, or following a natural disaster, a baby is more likely to be a girl. Studies revealed the ratio of boys to girls dropped among babies conceived in New York the week after 9/11.—<em>M.S.</em></p>
<p><strong>Best Interview<br /></strong><em>Texas Monthly</em> chats with first daughter <a href="http://www.texasmonthly.com/2007-11-01/feature.php">Jenna Bush</a> about Secret Service agents, her new book, teaching, and ghosts in the White House. The article paints an intimate picture of the struggle to maintain independence when the president is your father. Best moment: Bush recounts one college professor's reaction when she bought an Australian author beer on a class field trip: &quot;'Oh, God, here comes another international incident.&quot; Jenna had already turned 21.—<em>J.M.</em></p>
<p><strong>Best Cocktail-Party Factoid<br /></strong> <a href="http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1684530,00.html">According</a> to <em>Time</em>, Picasso was so superstitious that he refused to donate his old clothes to his gardener, &quot;lest some of his genius rub off.&quot;—<em>E.G.</em></p>Fri, 16 Nov 2007 21:19:00 GMThttp://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/other_magazines/2007/11/playing_in_the_street.htmlElizabeth GumportGarin HovannisianJake MelvilleDavid SessionsMorgan Smith2007-11-16T21:19:00ZThe New York Times Magazine finds that the early episodes of Sesame Street wouldn't please today's parents.News and PoliticsWhat's worth reading in Time, the Economist, and more.2178233Elizabeth GumportGarin HovannisianJake MelvilleDavid SessionsMorgan SmithOther Magazineshttp://www.slate.com/id/2178233falsefalsefalseThe Other Mormon Problemhttp://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/other_magazines/2007/11/the_other_mormon_problem.html
<p>Today, Other Magazines reads <em>Newsweek</em>, the <em>Weekly Standard</em>, <em>The New Yorker</em>, <em>New York</em>, and <em>Washington Monthly</em> to find out what's worth your time—and what's not.</p>
<p><strong></strong></p>
<p><strong>Must Read<br /></strong> <a href="http://www.tnr.com/politics/story.html?id=03668296-424a-4878-bd95-209837a30815&amp;p=1">An article</a> in the<em> New Republic</em> reveals the qualms of many Mormons who believe that Mitt Romney is compromising his faith to court evangelical votes. &quot;The bolder his courting of evangelicals, the more pressure he will feel to conflate his beliefs with theirs—further unnerving his fellow Mormons.&quot;—<em>G.H.</em></p>
<p><strong>Best Campaign Piece<br /></strong><em>Washington Monthly</em> <a href="http://www2.washingtonmonthly.com/features/2007/0711.tmi.html">interviews</a> presidential hopeful Tom Tancredo about his success with using immigration as a campaign issue. He says, &quot;It is not the worst thing in the world to have changed the debate so significantly … that [Republicans] are willing to say things like 'We will secure the border' and 'We will go after employers.' That's the moderate position now.&quot;—<em>J.M.</em></p>
<p><strong>Best Look Back<br /></strong>As part of <em>Newsweek</em>'s memoriam to the year 1968, an <a href="http://www.newsweek.com/id/69542">article</a> recounts the events of the &quot;week from hell&quot;—Robert F. Kennedy's entrance into the presidential race, Lyndon B. Johnson's announcement that he wouldn't seek another term, and Martin Luther King Jr.'s assasination. It's a familiar history, but senior correspondent Evan Thomas brings keen perception to the chronology of the moment's&nbsp;tumultuous emotions.<em>—D.S.</em></p>
<p><strong>Best International Story<br /></strong>The<em> New Republic </em>walks the streets of Pakistan to find the <a href="http://www.tnr.com/politics/story.html?id=e868f5c2-12a2-4059-940f-b687bc9710af">last supporters</a> of Pervez Musharraf. It finds them in unlikely places, even among Musharraf's protestors, who give the dictator credit for freeing up the media and building the foundation for his own downfall.—<em>G.H.</em></p>
<p><strong>Best Military Piece<br /></strong>With the lion's share of the fighting in Iraq happening on the ground, what's the Navy up to? <a href="http://weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/014/340sybwc.asp">Reinventing itself unnecessarily</a>, according to a <em>Weekly Standard</em> op-ed on the branch's new &quot;flawed strategy.&quot;—<em>B.F.</em></p>
<p><strong>Best Inside Look<br /></strong><em>Washington Monthly</em> runs an <a href="http://www2.washingtonmonthly.com/features/2007/0711.klein.html">engrossing look</a> into the inner workings of Lyndon LaRouche's cultlike political and philosophical movement by highlighting the unusual role of printing companies in the dissemination of his extremist ideas, LaRouche's financial woes, and his work for Regan's National Security Council.—<em>J.M.</em></p>
<p><strong>Best Investigative Reporting<br /></strong>The<em> New Republic </em>uncovers the brutal tactics of Hillary Clinton's <a href="http://www.tnr.com/politics/story.html?id=6e01fdce-ad97-4dab-a07d-bf98dc52f681">media machine</a>, suggesting that &quot;breeding fear and paranoia within the press corps is itself part of the Clinton campaign's strategy.&quot;—<em>G.H.</em></p>
<p><strong>Best Media Piece<br /></strong>The <em>Weekly Standard</em> <a href="http://weeklystandard.com/Content/Protected/Articles/000/000/014/344stgmg.asp">examines</a> the origins of the modern obituary, sprinkling in choice pull-quotes throughout, including a tasty tidbit about a Julie Andrews love triangle.—<em>B.F.</em></p>
<p><strong>Best Profile<br /></strong>A year after his death at 56 from lung cancer, <em>New York</em><em></em> <a href="http://nymag.com/news/features/40647/">examines</a> the legacy of Gerald Boyd, the first black journalist to break into the <em>New York Times</em> masthead and whom the paper fired amid the Jayson Blair scandal.—<em>M.S.</em></p>
<p><strong>Best Environment Piece<br /></strong>A <em>Newsweek</em> article reveals how Toyota has turned from &quot;paragon to pariah&quot; in the eyes of environmental groups. The Prius was great, but the company is vying to become the world's No. 1 automaker, and that means fighting laws that would hurt their planned line of gas-guzzling trucks.<em>—D.S.</em></p>
<p><strong>Best Profile<br /></strong><em>The New Yorker</em> examines the career of the controversial French comedian Dieudonn&eacute; M'Bala M'Bala. Early in his career, Dieudonn&eacute; parodied bigotry; now, &quot;he has won a reputation as a committed and vocal anti-Semite.&quot;—<em>E.G.</em></p>
<p><strong>Best Photo Essay<br /></strong><em>Newsweek</em> <a href="http://www.newsweek.com/id/69035">photographs</a> the &quot;faces of a fiery year&quot;—key players in 1968 that are still living. The full-page photos are beautifully shot and sequenced for alternating black-white contrast.<em>—D.S.</em></p>
<p><strong>Best Special Feature<br /></strong>Fuel your holiday-induced depression with <em>New York</em>'s<em></em> <a href="http://nymag.com/movies/features/40646/">preholiday guide to downer films</a>.—<em>M.S.</em></p>
<p><strong>Best Cocktail-Party Fodder<br /></strong>According to <em>The New Yorker</em>, the shoulder blades of bears were once used as sickles to cut grass, and all bears descend from &quot;a creature that was originally the size of a small terrier.&quot;—<em>E.G.</em></p>Tue, 13 Nov 2007 20:56:00 GMThttp://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/other_magazines/2007/11/the_other_mormon_problem.htmlBrad FloraElizabeth GumportGarin HovannisianJake MelvilleDavid SessionsMorgan Smith2007-11-13T20:56:00ZThe New Republic on how Mormons resent Mitt Romney's courting of evangelical voters.News and PoliticsWhat's worth reading in Newsweek, The New Yorker, the Weekly Standard, and more.2177921Brad FloraElizabeth GumportGarin HovannisianJake MelvilleDavid SessionsMorgan SmithOther Magazineshttp://www.slate.com/id/2177921falsefalsefalseThe Pointless Protestshttp://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/other_magazines/2007/11/the_pointless_protests.html
<p>Today, Other Magazines reads through the <em>Economist</em>, <em>Time</em>, the <em>New York Times Magazine</em>, <em>Mother Jones</em>,<em> Sports Illustrated</em>, <em>Smithsonian</em>, the <em>New Scientist</em>, and <em>Paste</em> to find out what's worth your time—and what's not.</p>
<p><strong> Must Rea d</strong> The<em> Economist</em> runs a bleak <a href="http://www.economist.com/displaystory.cfm?story_id=10102956">dispatch</a> from Pakistan assessing the possible outcomes to its constitutional crisis, concluding that Musharraf isn't likely to leave anytime soon. The writer discovers that Western fear of a pro-Islamist government is&nbsp;limiting foreign pressure, while the poor population's unwillingness to protest dampens the opportunity for change.<em>—J.M.</em></p>
<p><strong>Worst Cover Story<br /></strong><em>Sports Illustrated</em>'s <a href="http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/writers/tim_layden/11/06/patriots1112/">piece</a> on the New England Patriots' linebacker corps promises to give an insider's view on the camaraderie and dynamics of the group, but fails to deliver much beyond player nicknames.<em>—J.M.</em></p>
<p><strong>Best Political Commentary<br /></strong>In <em>Time</em>, Rich Lowry <a href="http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1682291,00.html">moves</a> into the &quot;world of Hillary hatred,&quot; noting that &quot;it's a paradox of this election season that the most conservative candidate in the democratic presidential field is the one most hate by conservatives.&quot;—<em>M.S.</em></p>
<p><strong>Best Foreign Reporting<br /></strong>The<em> Economist</em> <a href="http://www.economist.com/world/asia/displaystory.cfm?story_id=10104969">looks</a> at an unlikely threat to the Chinese government's stability: unemployed veterans. Many veterans are becoming frustrated at the lack of economic opportunities in rural areas and have formed a surprisingly coordinated movement.<em>—J.M.</em></p>
<p><strong>Best Iraq Piece<br /></strong>The anti-war <em>Mother Jones</em> has some <a href="http://www.motherjones.com/news/feature/2007/11/iraq-war-anti-war-response.html">tough questions</a> to ask its activists, such as, &quot;Is there any contradiction between supporting U.S. military intervention to stop the Rwandan genocide and opposing U.S. military intervention to prevent ethnic cleansing in Iraq?&quot;—<em>G.H.</em></p>
<p><strong>Best Feature<br /></strong>In the<em> New York Times Magazine</em>'s film issue, A.O. Scott writes about the history of the Western and argues that it &quot;has not so much died as fragmented: the solitary man of action remains a staple of … action movies; the romance of the past is projected back onto the 20<sup>th</sup> century rather than the one before.&quot;—<em>J.L.</em></p>
<p><strong>Best Entertainment Piece<br /></strong><em>Paste</em> goes backstage with four bands at the Bonnaroo music festival to learn the secrets of putting together a &quot;kickass&quot; set list and how to spice it up with (sort-of) spontaneous moments.—<em>D.S.</em></p>
<p><strong>Best Technology Article<br /></strong>Painter Jackson Pollock always claimed he could control where his drops of paint landed, and mathematical analysis once supported this claim, revealing fractal patterns in his pictures. This technique, the<em> New Scientist</em> reports, has now been called into question: Researchers commissioned Pollock imitations, applied the fractal formula, and found the fakes were indistinguishable from the genuine articles.—<em>E.G.</em></p>
<p><strong>Best Art Piece<br /></strong>Golden panels from the <a href="http://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/gatesofparadise-200711.html">gilded bronze doors</a> of Florence's Baptistery of San Giovanni, crafted by Renaissance master Lorenzo Ghiberti and considered one of the period's great works, are touring the United States for the first time. <em>Smithsonian </em>explains why we should care.—<em>B.F.</em></p>
<p><strong>Best Health Piece<br /></strong>According to the<em> New Scientist</em>, stem cell injections may be able to restore memories lost due to strokes and degenerative diseases like Alzheimer's. Experiments performed on mice suggest that the new cells are able to reverse cognitive damage after a period of about three months, the time it takes the transplanted cells to mature and form connections within the brain.—<em>E.G.</em></p>
<p><strong>Best Sports Piece<br /></strong><em>Sports Illustrated</em> gives a <a href="http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/writers/michael_farber/11/06/blues1112/index.html">behind-the-scenes</a> look at what it takes to rebuild a failing hockey franchise into a successful business (if not a great team) by talking to the St. Louis Blues management, coaches, and players.<em>—J.M.</em></p>
<p><strong>Creepiest Piece<br /></strong>A <em>Smithsonian </em>feature nervously wades through the &quot;toxic muck&quot; of the Ganges River, now a putrid dumping ground for human corpses and raw sewage, and looks at <a href="http://www.smithsonianmag.com/people-places/ganges-200711.html">stalled efforts to clean it up</a>.—<em>B.F.</em></p>
<p><strong>Best Humor Piece<br /></strong>The November issue of <em>Paste</em> imagines what using an &quot;iPhone shuffle&quot; might be like: &quot;I have no idea who's calling me, much less who I'm calling.&quot;<em>—D.S.</em></p>
<p><strong>Best Cocktail-Party Factoid<br /></strong>The<em> Economist </em>visits <a href="http://www.economist.com/world/na/displaystory.cfm?story_id=10098973">Dollywood</a>—music superstar Dolly Parton's Americana theme park—and learns that former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein used an Arabic version of her hit song &quot;I Will Always Love You&quot; in his successful re-election campaign in 2002.<em>—J.M.</em></p>Fri, 09 Nov 2007 20:38:00 GMThttp://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/other_magazines/2007/11/the_pointless_protests.htmlBrad FloraElizabeth GumportGarin HovannisianJuliet LapidosJake MelvilleDavid SessionsMorgan Smith2007-11-09T20:38:00ZThe Economist on why Pakistan won't be democratizing any time soon.News and PoliticsWhat's worth reading in Time, the New York Times Magazine, Mother Jones, and more.2177781Brad FloraElizabeth GumportGarin HovannisianJuliet LapidosJake MelvilleDavid SessionsMorgan SmithOther Magazineshttp://www.slate.com/id/2177781falsefalsefalseProfiles in Murderhttp://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/other_magazines/2007/11/profiles_in_murder.html
<p>Today, Other Magazines finds the articles worth reading in <em>The New Yorker</em>, <em>New York</em>, <em>Newsweek</em>, the <em>Weekly Standard</em>, <em>The Nation</em>, and <em>Atlanta</em>.</p>
<p><strong></strong></p>
<p><strong>Must Read<br /></strong>A <a href="http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2007/11/12/071112fa_fact_gladwell">piece</a> in <em>The</em><em>New Yorker</em> by Malcolm Gladwell examines how the FBI goes about profiling serial killers. It marvels at the individual successes of profile-turned-author John Douglas, who recently wrote a book on serial killer BTK. But the piece notes that there are limits to the predictive abilities of profilers.<em>—D.S.</em></p>
<p><strong>Must Skip<br /></strong><em>New York </em> <a href="http://nymag.com/news/features/40296/">asks</a>, &quot;When is a hate crime not a hate crime?&quot; and leaves us hanging. The article—which examines a 2006 Brooklyn murder—wonders if a gay man is capable of committing a gay hate crime but, losing itself in the intricacies of the individual story, never settles on an answer.—<em>E.G.</em><strong>&nbsp;</strong></p>
<p><strong>Best Campaign Story<br /></strong>The<em> Weekly Standard</em> <a href="http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/014/309xlwjg.asp">considers</a> Hillary Clinton's recent visit to her alma mater Wellesley College by taking a look at her 1969 graduation speech. &quot;She wants to take credit for being a student radical while at the same time hinting that as president she won't do for America what she did for Wellesley,&quot; the piece says.—<em>G.H.</em></p>
<p><strong>Best Interview<br /></strong>&quot;<em>Newsweek</em>: So is she being honest? <br />Barack Obama: I think she was being disingenuous.<br /><em>Newsweek</em>: What's the difference between disingenuous and dishonest? <br />Obama: You'll have to ask her.&quot;<br />—<a href="http://www.newsweek.com/id/67934">Barack Obama to <em>Newsweek</em></a>, on Hillary Clinton's claim that she has no say in the release of her first-lady papers.—<em>B.F.</em><em>&nbsp;</em></p>
<p><strong>Best Profile<br /></strong><em>Newsweek</em> takes <a href="http://www.newsweek.com/id/68113">a hard look at New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg</a>, businessman, politician, wiseguy. It suggests that he just might mount the most competitive third-party presidential campaign in history if he thinks voters aren't happy with their options.—<em>B.F.</em></p>
<p><strong>Best Business Piece<br /></strong>An article in <em>The Nation</em> is <a href="http://www.thenation.com/doc/20071119/klein">dismayed</a> at the &quot;booming business of privatized disaster services.&quot; In the wake of Hurricane Katrina and the Southern California wildfires, companies are offering evacuation, medical, and fire protection services to those who can &quot;pay to be saved.&quot;—<em>J.M.</em></p>
<p><strong>Best International Story<br /></strong>Bemoaning the <a href="http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/014/314ddjcy.asp?ZoomFont=YES">corruption of Putin's Russia</a>, the<em> Weekly Standard</em> argues that there still remains a hope of change. &quot;Showboating ploys like calls to expel Russia from the G8 make infinitely less sense than quietly holding Russia to its G8 commitments, including anticorruption initiatives.&quot;—<em>G.H.</em></p>
<p><strong>Best Foreign-Policy Analysis<br /></strong><em>The Nation </em> <a href="http://www.thenation.com/doc/20071119/schwenninger">argues</a> that economic growth and climate change, not terrorism, will be the primary concerns to American security and calls on presidential contenders to recognize that &quot;the world does not need strong US leadership so much as it needs constructive US participation as a great power.&quot;<em>—J.M.</em></p>
<p><strong>Best Education Story<br /></strong>The<em> Weekly Standard</em> tracks the <a href="http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/014/306jqecg.asp">history of Antioch College</a>, a prominent beatnik campus of the '60s. Antioch's recent collapse, the magazine argues, can be attributed to an &quot;obsession with gender identity and violating cultural norms.&quot;—<em>G.H.</em></p>
<p><strong>Best Sports Story<br /></strong>&quot;Man, were we wrong,&quot; <a href="http://atlantamagazine.com/uploadedFiles/Atlanta/TOC/Articles/November_Vick_LOW-RES.pdf">admits</a><em>Atlanta</em> magazine, with a reprint of a glowing September 2003 profile of Michael Vick. But this time around, they've made a few revisions.<em>—M.S.</em></p>
<p><strong>Most Surprising Send-Off<br /></strong>The<em> Weekly Standard</em> announces the <a href="http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/014/311wpngj.asp">end of the Karen Hughes era</a> and sends off the longtime Bush loyalist with a thumping. The article argues that Hughes &quot;bungled explanations of basic U.S. history and unwittingly insulted her audiences by talking down to them.&quot;—<em>G.H.</em><strong>&nbsp;</strong></p>
<p><strong>Worst Approval Matrix Item<br /></strong><em>New York</em> <a href="http://nymag.com/arts/all/approvalmatrix/40258/">says</a> &quot;a shoe-donation program&quot; that &quot;inflicts Crocs on already-suffering Dominican children&quot; is as despicable as it gets. Just because they are aesthetically displeasing doesn't mean they aren't shoes.—<em>E.G.</em></p>Tue, 06 Nov 2007 21:25:00 GMThttp://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/other_magazines/2007/11/profiles_in_murder.htmlBrad FloraElizabeth GumportGarin HovannisianJake MelvilleDavid SessionsMorgan Smith2007-11-06T21:25:00ZThe New Yorker on FBI serial-killer profilers.News and PoliticsWhat's worth reading in The New Yorker, New York, Newsweek, and more.2177601Brad FloraElizabeth GumportGarin HovannisianJake MelvilleDavid SessionsMorgan SmithOther Magazineshttp://www.slate.com/id/2177601falsefalsefalseNot All It's Cracked Up To Behttp://www.slate.com/articles/life/faithbased/2007/11/not_all_its_cracked_up_to_be.html
<p> As a politically interested evangelical, I'm constantly surprised to find that newspapers know more about my political feelings than I do. I haven't even picked my presidential candidate yet, but, it turns out, I'm supposed to be frustrated and dissatisfied with my options—and my peers.</p>
<p>To hear the press tell it, the so-called values voter is disenchanted with the Republican Party and will stay home and pray for our country on Election Day '08 if the GOP nominee ends up being a <a href="http://www.slate.com/id/2165788/">cross-dressing home wrecker</a>—or, God forbid, a Mormon. In October, <em>New York Times Magazine</em> gave the tale an <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/28/magazine/28Evangelicals-t.html?pagewanted=1&amp;_r=1">epic reiteration</a> with a cover story by David D. Kirkpatrick heralding a great &quot;evangelical crackup.&quot; The &quot;extraordinary evangelical love affair with Bush ended in heartbreak over the Iraq war and what they see as his meager domestic accomplishments,&quot; Kirkpatrick writes, and that desperation is supposedly sparking reactions from general disenchantment to leftward desertion.</p>
<p>But rather than pinpointing a genuine political trend, the piece just triggers a nagging sense of d&eacute;j&agrave; vu, one confirmed by a search of the <em>Times</em> archives: In a February 2000 <a href="http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C0CE4D61530F934A15751C0A9669C8B63&amp;sec=&amp;spon=&amp;pagewanted=1"><em>Times Magazine </em>cover story</a>, Margaret Talbot concluded that &quot;it cannot be denied that as a political force, the religious right is flagging&quot; and described &quot;a newfound disillusionment with politics.&quot; Now, in 2007, Kirkpatrick calls 2004 the zenith of evangelicals' influence and says that the religious right is once again &quot;cracking up,&quot; facing &quot;end times.&quot; If this convoluted chronology is to be believed, then no other political demographic has ever vacillated as impressively between retreat and triumph.</p>
<p>The evangelical right is actually doing no such thing. These trends are largely invented, indicative of a media knack for chronicling evangelical impact in absurdly narrow cycles. Contrary to Talbot's assertion in 2000, the Christian Coalition's financial troubles and Gary Bauer's withdrawal from the presidential race didn't signal a decline of the religious right. Karl Rove may have used evangelicals to defeat John Kerry in 2004, but the media's inflation of that victory to mythical proportions is a <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A44082-2004Nov11.html">wild overstatement of the facts</a>. And this year, Kirkpatrick overshoots his case by suggesting that all the grumbling over presidential candidates prophesies Christianity's political apocalypse. </p>
<p>Instead, evangelicals, a notoriously diverse and fastidious demographic, are doing what they always do: bickering their way to a compromise over a candidate. </p>
<p>It's misleading to cite evangelicals' lack of an early favorite as a sign that the voting bloc is weakening. They were equally dissatisfied with the 2000 Republican primary crop, and they grumbled then just like they do now. <a>Gary </a> Bauer endorsed McCain, <a href="http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C0DE6D71539F93AA15751C0A9669C8B63&amp;n=Top/Reference/Times%20Topics/Subjects/P/Presidential%20Election%20of%202000">writing</a> on the <em>Times</em> op-ed page that evangelicals are &quot;independent-minded and diverse,&quot; while Dr. James Dobson <a href="http://www.slate.com/id/2109621/">hesitantly supported Bush</a>. <a href="http://www.slate.com#Correction">*</a> Bush and McCain both refused to take orders from evangelicals, and, just like now, the religious right <a href="http://www.thenation.com/doc/20000807/corn">was suspicious</a>. Thanks partially to McCain's decision to <a href="http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F02EED71F39F930A35750C0A9669C8B63&amp;sec=&amp;spon=&amp;pagewanted=print">insult evangelical leaders</a>, Bush took the evangelical vote, but only after trading early primary victories. </p>
<p>The evangelical conversation about 2008 actually is producing some interesting debates, but, unfortunately, the truly interesting stuff has yet to be fully addressed. Kirkpatrick senses a &quot;philosophical rift&quot; in the younger generation of evangelicals, and he's got that much right. Young Christians indeed have a more redemptive view of society, rejecting the notion that America is slouching toward Gomorrah and must be warned regularly and loudly. They are interested in making society a better place in the here and now, as opposed to simply converting the lost. </p>
<p>That shift might be related to their <a href="http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2006/september/42.32.html">embrace of Reformed theology</a>, a doctrine that encourages believers to acknowledge that they are all inherently sinful and have received undeserved grace (thus making them <a href="http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2004/augustweb-only/8-30-22.0.html">respond less judgmentally</a> to others' sexual behavior). Reformed theology also rebuffs the idea that behavior makes one righteous, effectively discouraging the equation of patriotism and blind party activism with piety. A 2006 <a href="http://pewforum.org/docs/?DocID=150#10">Pew survey</a> shows that college-educated conservatives are more likely to be less conservative on issues like gay marriage, stem-cell research, and contraception than those who've completed only some college or high school. And <a href="http://www.pbs.org/newshour/generation-next/demographic/religion3_11-21.html">according to a study by Barna group</a>, a Christian research organization, young born-again Christians are 15 percent more likely than their elders to find homosexual behavior morally acceptable. Even many of my college-age evangelical friends at the conservative Christian school Patrick Henry College see popular films, attend rock concerts, and have no objection to <a href="http://www.stevekmccoy.com/reformissionary/2005/09/alcohol_abstent.html">drinking</a> or <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/28/magazine/28dancing.t.html?ref=magazine">dancing</a>.</p>
<p>This is a highly significant trend within evangelicalism—arguably <em>the</em> evangelical story of the moment. But it doesn't quite have the political implications that the media suggest, namely new stirrings of affection for the Democratic Party. Young Christians are interested in more than &quot;two or three issues,&quot; as left-leaning pastor Bill Hybels contends in the <em>Times </em>piece, but they are smart, educated, and usually <a href="http://pewforum.org/docs/?DocID=250">swing conservative</a> for reasons much deeper than the Big Two (abortion and gay rights). In my time as a student at Patrick Henry College, I have witnessed countless students moderate from &quot;Republican politics is next to godliness&quot; to &quot;we shouldn't be blindly following a specific party or leader.&quot; Despite that transformation, not one of them has ever campaigned or voted for a Democrat. They are disenchanted with the GOP for its abandonment of fiscal conservatism and limited government, but they'd consider voting for Democrats an even bigger step back. If there is a political trend to be reported here, it's the fact that increasingly progressive young Christians will almost certainly balance the Republican Party, insisting on a broader focus than clich&eacute;d morality battles. </p>
<p>But this does not mean that they're going to substantially reject their Republican roots. The &quot;crackup&quot; narrative assumes that Christians' primary political focus is moral issues. That misinterpretation perpetuates myths like the clout of the &quot;evangelical left,&quot; a tiny but vocal fringe that tacks Scripture references onto MoveOn.org talking points and gets more attention in the press than it does in the mainstream evangelical community. Jim Wallis, whom Kirkpatrick calls the &quot;lonely voice&quot; of the evangelical left, <a href="http://www.slate.com/id/2111701/">argues strenuously</a> for Christian nonpartisanship, but he also <a href="http://www.christusvictorministries.org/main/index.php?option=com_content&amp;task=view&amp;id=57&amp;Itemid=50">clearly sees left-wing activism</a> as &quot;God's politics.&quot; Wallis himself <a href="http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1590782,00.html">tries to sell</a> the idea of a mass evangelical exodus from the right, but even he lacks the evidence or the following to lend his claims any credence. Rather than being inspired to desert to the left, most evangelicals see Wallis' arguments as a shallow fad (as a pastoral-student friend of mine put it, &quot;socialism shrouded in Jesus talk&quot;).</p>
<p>There's no disputing the fact that evangelicals feel burned by their ineffective intimacy with the Republican Party and are increasingly convinced that church and politics shouldn't have such an intertwined relationship. Evangelicals young and old are not retreating or switching parties, but they're carefully weighing their involvement and attempting to bring it into conformity with an all-encompassing commitment to their theology. It may be mincing words, but in this case, the truth of the story depends on definitions. And in that respect, the mainstream press still doesn't get evangelicals and how to cover them without repetitive and questionable &quot;cycle&quot; narratives. Calling maturation a meltdown misses the mark—and the story.</p>
<p><em><strong> <a>Correction</a>, Nov. 6, 2007: </strong>This article originally and incorrectly referred to a piece by David D. Kirkpatrick as being written in 2000. It was written in 2004. The sentence has been removed. (<a href="http://www.slate.com#Return">Return</a> &nbsp;to the corrected&nbsp;paragraph.)&nbsp;</em></p>Fri, 02 Nov 2007 17:01:00 GMThttp://www.slate.com/articles/life/faithbased/2007/11/not_all_its_cracked_up_to_be.htmlDavid Sessions2007-11-02T17:01:00ZWhy is the New York Times Magazine saying evangelical Christians are increasingly divided?LifeThe evangelical crackup is a myth.2177388David SessionsFaith-basedhttp://www.slate.com/id/2177388falsefalsefalseHard Timeshttp://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/other_magazines/2007/10/hard_times.html
<p>Today, Other Magazines reads the <em>New Republic</em>, <em>Newsweek</em>, <em>New York</em>, <em>The New Yorker</em>, the <em>Weekly Standard</em>, <em>Wired</em>, and the <em>Chronicle of Higher Education</em> to find out what's worth your time—and what's not.</p>
<p><strong> Must Read</strong> Two years ago, veteran <em>New York Times</em> business reporter Kurt Eichenwald was hailed for exposing the dark underbelly of child pornography and for rescuing a teen from its clutches. Today, according to a fascinating feature in <em>New York</em>, <a href="http://nymag.com/guides/money/2007/39957">his life and career lie in tatters</a>.— <em>B.F.</em></p>
<p><strong>Best Politics Profile<br /></strong>The <em>Weekly Standard</em>'s <a href="http://weeklystandard.com/Check.asp?idArticle=14278&amp;r=vjcro">cover story</a> colorfully worships Republican political hack Roger Stone, who's had a hand in eight presidential campaigns.—<em>D.S.</em></p>
<p><strong>Best Political Comparison<br /></strong>A <em>Newsweek</em> analysis looks to the silver screen for insight into the current presidential race in a feature that explores parallels between &quot;sad, woman warrior&quot; <a href="http://www.newsweek.com/id/61957">Queen Elizabeth and current presidential&nbsp;candidate Hillary Clinton</a>. While both succeed at concealing their inmost thoughts, Hillary lacks one tool the queen had in spades: rage.—<em>B.F.</em></p>
<p><strong>Most Scathing Editorial<br /></strong>The editors of the <em>New</em><em> Republic</em> have it out with congressional Democrats, calling them &quot;losers&quot; for allowing their recent political advantages to &quot;dissolve overnight.&quot; How can the party get back in shape? &quot;Grow a pair.&quot;—<em>D.S.</em></p>
<p><strong>Best Education Piece<br /></strong>With a lengthy and well-explained account of how endowments operate, the <em>Chronicle of Higher Education </em>reports on the movement among Republicans to <a href="http://chronicle.com/free/v54/i10/10a00101.htm">force wealthy universities</a> &nbsp;to spend a greater percentage of their endowments to defray tuition costs.—<em>M.S.</em></p>
<p><strong>Buzz Generator<br /></strong><em>New York</em> <a href="http://nymag.com/guides/money/2007/39948/">brings together ex-drug kingpins</a> Nicky Barnes and Frank Lucas (both featured in the upcoming <em>American Gangster</em> film) for their first conversation in 30 years, showing &quot;a familiarity that bordered on a kind of love. Or at least respect for a fellow tycoon.&quot;—<em>B.F.</em></p>
<p><strong>Best Culture Piece<br /></strong>A piece in the<em> Chronicle of Higher Education</em> notes recent pop-culture interest in Lewis Carroll's relationships with little girls and <a href="http://chronicle.com/free/v54/i10/10b01601.htm">defends the <em>Alice in Wonderland</em></a> &nbsp;author from accusations of pedophilia.—<em>M.S.</em></p>
<p><strong>Best Pop-Psychology Piece<br /></strong>With news that at least one of the California wildfires was set deliberately, a <em>Newsweek</em> feature <a href="http://www.newsweek.com/id/62393/">steps inside the mind of arsonists</a> and looks at the angers, passions, and needs that cause people to start fires.—<em>B.F.</em></p>
<p><strong>Best Technology Piece<br /></strong><em>Wired </em> <a href="http://www.wired.com/politics/security/magazine/15-11/ff_rossmiller">reports</a> on Shannen Rossmiller, a Montana mother with a &quot;remarkable talent for chatting up terrorists.&quot; Posing as an al-Qaida soldier, Rossmiller trolls online forums for possible recruits and has helped officials locate potential terrorists abroad and in the United States. Like early hackers, the article notes, Rossmiller employs a combination of technical savvy and &quot;social engineering&quot;: All it really takes, she says, is the right attitude.—<em>E.G.</em></p>
<p><strong>Best Health Piece<br /></strong><em>Newsweek</em>'s cover looks at the social and institutional changes being rolled out by parents and educators in response to the rising number of American children <a href="http://www.newsweek.com/id/62296">allergic to common foods</a>. Meanwhile, scientists are desperate for a peanut-allergy vaccine.—<em>B.F.</em></p>
<p><strong>Best Environmental Piece<br /></strong><em>The New Yorker</em> paints a thoroughly fascinating portrait of <a href="http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2007/11/05/071105fa_fact_khatchadourian">an anti-whaling pirate</a> and takes us on an adventure onboard the <em>Farley Mowat</em> as it tries to stop a Japanese whaling ship.</p>
<p><strong>Best &quot;Best Of&quot; List<br /></strong><em>Wired </em> <a href="http://www.wired.com/culture/lifestyle/magazine/15-11/st_best">looks</a> at the cream of the conspiracy-theory crop, including the belief that shape-shifting lizard-people run the world. Famous alleged lizards include George W. Bush and the British royal family.—<em>E.G.</em></p>
<p><strong>Best Quote<br /></strong>In the <em>New</em><em> Republic</em>, Diane Sawyer asks Jenna Bush if it's &quot;tricky&quot; to mention sex in her book when she &quot;comes from an administration that believes in abstinence.&quot; Bush's <a href="http://tnr.com/themall/story.html?id=95de7bdb-7b49-4eb2-b91a-427a85c68d21">response</a>: &quot;I don't come from an administration. I'm his daughter, you know?&quot;<em>—D.S.</em></p>
<p><strong>Best Cocktail-Party Factoid<br /></strong><em>The New Yorker</em> <a href="http://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/books/2007/11/05/071105crbo_books_kolbert">reveals</a> that &quot;[t]he average new car gets fewer miles to the gallon than Henry Ford's Model T got.&quot;—<em>G.H.</em></p>Tue, 30 Oct 2007 20:29:00 GMThttp://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/other_magazines/2007/10/hard_times.htmlBrad FloraElizabeth GumportGarin HovannisianDavid SessionsMorgan Smith2007-10-30T20:29:00ZNew York paints a sympathetic portrait of Kurt Eichenwald.News and PoliticsWhat's worth reading in the New Republic, Newsweek, New York, The New Yorker, and more.2177054Brad FloraElizabeth GumportGarin HovannisianDavid SessionsMorgan SmithOther Magazineshttp://www.slate.com/id/2177054falsefalsefalseGrave Matterhttp://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/other_magazines/2007/10/grave_matter.html
<p>Today, Other Magazines sorts through <em>Time</em>, the <em>New York Times Magazine</em>, the <em>Economist</em>, <em>Wired</em>, <em>National Geographic</em>, <em>Portfolio</em>, and <em>National Review</em> to find out what's worth your time—and what's not.</p>
<p><strong>Must Read<br /></strong>Joshua Foer reports on the science of memory in the <em>National Geographic</em>'s <a href="http://magma.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/2007-11/memory/foer-text.html">cover story</a>. Foer profiles a woman who remembers every day of her life and a man who cannot remember simple things like his own age from second to second, along the way revealing how our ability to remember has changed. In the future, pharmaceuticals could help us remember—or forget—anything we want.—<em>M.S.</em></p>
<p><strong>Must Skip<br /></strong><em>Time</em> profiles White House press secretary <a href="http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1673259,00.html">Dana Perino</a> and finds that defending an unpopular president and selling an unpopular war in front of an &quot;angry press corps&quot; is tough going.<em>—J.M.</em></p>
<p><strong>Worth a Look<br /></strong>The <em>New York Times Magazine </em>launches a new column from critic Virginia Heffernan: &quot;The Medium: where all those screens—handheld, laptop, desktop, plasma—are taking us.&quot; Heffernan's first foray is a brief ode to total absorption, being so enthralled by a book, Web site, or film that one's mind seems to vanish.—<em>B.F.</em></p>
<p><strong>Best Statistic<br /></strong>The <em>Economist</em> <a href="http://www.economist.com/opinion/displaystory.cfm?story_id=9988740">reports</a> that only 37 percent of &quot;professionals and managers&quot; identify themselves as Republicans, perhaps because of the party's focus on &quot;God, gays, and guns.&quot; The article notes, &quot;As long as the business of the Republican Party seems not to be business, it can hardly complain if businesspeople look elsewhere.&quot;—<em>D.S.</em></p>
<p><strong>Best Political Analysis<br /></strong>In <em>Time,</em> Michael Kinsley argues that <a href="http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1673265,00.html">libertarianism</a> is becoming an &quot;increasingly powerful force in politics.&quot; He concludes that the party that harnesses those voters who are dissatisfied with a political system that debates only where to expand government control will &quot;dominate the future of American politics.&quot;<em>—J.M.</em></p>
<p><strong>Best International Coverage<br /></strong>The <em>Economist</em> <a href="http://www.economist.com/world/europe/displaystory.cfm?story_id=9987685">weighs in</a> on a congressional resolution to declare the killing of Armenians by Ottoman Turks in 1915 a genocide. Turkey is a critical U.S. ally, and the politicized resolution is &quot;the worst possible way to encourage more steps in the right direction.&quot;—<em>D.S.</em></p>
<p><strong>Best Technology Piece<br /></strong>The November issue of <em>Portfolio</em> <a href="http://www.portfolio.com/executives/features/2007/10/15/Prolific-Inventors">visits</a> the top 10 living patent-holders for a look into the psyche of a modern-day Edison. Some of the findings are surprising, such as the fact that many inventors get ideas in their sleep. Others are more obvious, like the reality that inventing isn't necessarily a wealth-generating career.<em>—D.S.</em></p>
<p><strong>Best Business Story<br /></strong><em>Time</em> notes that <a href="http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1673288,00.html">crumbling infrastructure</a> and low coffers have led many states to consider selling or leasing public highways, tunnels, and bridges to private investors in return for toll rights. It's a win-win situation for everyone except drivers, who often face higher toll charges.<em>—J.M.</em></p>
<p><strong>Best Entertainment Piece<br /></strong>An <a href="http://www.portfolio.com/culture-lifestyle/culture-inc/arts/2007/10/15/YouPorn-Vivid-Entertainment-Profile">article</a> in the November issue of <em>Portfolio</em> reveals the undoing of the pornography industry, primarily at the hands of a free-porn site called YouPorn. The decline of DVD sales makes the porn world's struggle &quot;directly analogous to what's happening to the music industry, but worse.&quot;—<em>D.S.</em></p>
<p><strong>Best Profile<br /></strong><em>National Review</em> delivers a profile of Drew Carey—actor, comic, and passionate libertarian.—<em>G.H.</em></p>
<p><strong>Best Health Piece<br /></strong><em>Wired</em>'s hypnotically designed and surprisingly informative graph charts the history of psychiatric drugs in America. Along the way, we learn that Bayer produced the first drug in 1912—a barbiturate called Luminal—and that Adderall, the most popular treatment for ADHD, was approved in 1960, before the advent of &quot;mother's little helper&quot; Valium.—<em>E.G.</em></p>
<p><strong>Best Online Feature<br /></strong>The online <a href="http://magma.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/2007-11/hubble/hubble-photography.html">photo gallery</a> that accompanies the <em>National Geographic</em>'s <a href="http://magma.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/2007-11/hubble/ferris-text.html">piece</a> on the Hubble Space Telescope contains photos of the universe awe-inspiring enough to have come from the pages of a sci-fi novel.—<em>M.S.</em></p>
<p><strong>Best Environment Article<br /></strong> <a>The </a><em>New York Times Magazine</em> looks at research from Amherst College economist Jessica Wolpaw Reyes <a href="http://www.slate.com#Correction">*</a> arguing that the precipitous drop in violent crime during the 1990s resulted from … the Clean Air Act-mandated removal of lead from gasoline throughout the 1970s and 80s.—<em>B.F.</em></p>
<p><strong>Best Anti-Trend Piece<br /></strong>An <a href="http://www.portfolio.com/views/columns/2007/10/15/Green-Fad-and-the-Economy">article</a> in November's <em>Portfolio</em> calls the environmentally-concerned war on bottled water a &quot;fad.&quot; Objecting to bottled water is a position that, even while having some serious merit, is more about boosting profits and assuaging guilt than it is about the facts.—<em>D.S.</em></p>
<p><strong>Best Cocktail-Party Factoid<br /></strong>The <em>Economist</em> <a href="http://www.economist.com/world/na/displaystory.cfm?story_id=10000884">reveals</a> that marijuana is California's largest agricultural crop—even more abundant than grapes. Due to increased border security (keeps smugglers out) and diversifying demographics (it's normal to have strange people in the neighborhood), it's become more practical to grow weed at home.<em>—D.S.</em></p>
<p><em><strong> <a>Correction</a>, Oct. 22, 2007: </strong>This article originally misstated the name of Jessica Wolpaw Reyes. (<a href="http://www.slate.com#Return">Return</a> &nbsp;to the corrected sentence.)</em></p>Fri, 19 Oct 2007 19:49:00 GMThttp://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/other_magazines/2007/10/grave_matter.htmlBrad FloraElizabeth GumportGarin HovannisianJake MelvilleDavid SessionsMorgan Smith2007-10-19T19:49:00ZNational Geographic reports on the quirks, pitfalls, and future of memory.News and PoliticsWhat's worth reading in Time, the New York Times Magazine, the Economist, etc.2176323Brad FloraElizabeth GumportGarin HovannisianJake MelvilleDavid SessionsMorgan SmithOther Magazineshttp://www.slate.com/id/2176323falsefalsefalseBlackwater Blueshttp://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/other_magazines/2007/10/blackwater_blues.html
<p>Today, Other Magazines reads <em>Newsweek</em>, <em>The New Yorker</em>, the <em>New Republic</em>, the <em>Weekly Standard</em>, <em>Harper's</em>, <em>New York</em>, and the <em>Atlantic</em>&nbsp;to find out what's worth reading—and what's not.</p>
<p><strong>Must Read<br /></strong>In <em>Newsweek</em>'s &quot;prickly&quot; <a href="http://www.newsweek.com/id/43364">interview</a> with billionaire Blackwater founder Erik Prince, the ex-Navy SEAL responds to allegations of secrecy, discusses his company's future in high tech weapons development, and explains why <em>mercenary</em> is a &quot;slanderous word.&quot;—<em>B.F.</em></p>
<p><strong>Must Skip<br /></strong><em>New York</em>'s <a href="http://nymag.com/news/features/39319/">portrait</a> of Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton as law-school students is mostly gossip dressed up as political reporting. A stable of anonymous sources is trotted out, mostly to reminisce about the early days of the Clinton courtship, and we are once again reminded of the New York senator's competitive streak.—<em>E.G.</em></p>
<p><strong>Best Political Piece<br /></strong>The<em> Atlantic</em> explains why real estate—not culture or religion—might be the greatest difference between red states and blue states. Due to land-use policies that vary from state to state, the article argues, &quot;Americans are sorting themselves geographically by income and lifestyle.&quot;—<em>G.H.</em></p>
<p><strong>Best Business Piece<br /></strong>In <em>Harper's</em>, Naomi Klein takes on the rise of&nbsp;&quot;disaster capitalism,&quot; arguing that areas like Baghdad's Green Zone and post-Katrina New Orleans are &quot;fast-forward versions of what 'free market' forces are doing to our societies even in the absence of war.&quot; The government has outsourced itself to contractors, which in turn provide resources only to those who can pay.—<em>E.G.</em></p>
<p><strong>Worth a Look<br /></strong>The <em>Newsweek</em> cover <a href="http://www.newsweek.com/id/43354">takes</a> readers to Baghdad yet again, but this time for a series of battlefield love stories as the magazine explores the few American-Iraqi marriages that have resulted from the occupation of Iraq.—<em>B.F.</em></p>
<p><strong>Best Line<br /></strong>From the<em> Weekly Standard</em>'s <a href="http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/014/226xbvcg.asp">ho-hum analysis</a> of Fred Thompson's performance at last week's Republican debate: &quot;Fred Thompson did not drool on stage last Tuesday, and for that reason, among others, he is said to have survived his first Republican presidential debate.&quot;—<em>J.M.</em></p>
<p><strong>Best International Coverage<br /></strong>An excellent article in the<em> New Republic</em> rebuffs arguments that suggest there are too many ethnic groups for democracy to be viable in Burma. A worthwhile explanation of why we should care about those rioting monks.—<em>D.S.</em></p>
<p><strong>Best Culture Piece<br /></strong><em>The</em><em>New Yorker </em> <a href="http://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/musical/2007/10/22/071022crmu_music_frerejones">examines</a> how indie musicians' squeamishness about race (&quot;musical miscegenation&quot;) has affected the evolution of popular music: &quot;The uneasy, and sometimes inappropriate, borrowings and initiations that set rock and roll in motion gave popular music a heat and an intensity that can't be duplicated today, and the loss isn't just musical; it's also about risk.&quot;—<em>M.S.</em></p>
<p><strong>Best Science Story<br /></strong><em>Harper's</em> reports on Europe's increased efforts to regulate and reduce the use of toxic chemicals, as the EU has developed guidelines far more scrupulous than America's current policies. Bush's administration, the article suggests, has fought these efforts as Europe's success will mean that the United States is no longer &quot;the axis of influence around which the rest of the world revolves.&quot;—<em>E.G.</em></p>
<p><strong>Best Opening<br /></strong>In <em>The New Yorker</em>, Anthony Lane <a href="http://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/cinema/2007/10/22/071022crci_cinema_lane?currentPage=2">begins</a> his review of <em>Lust, Caution</em>: &quot;I consider it my responsibility to give prospective viewers the information they require. And here it is: ninety-five. That is the number of minutes that elapsed, by my watch, between the start of the film and the start of the sex, and from that you can calculate your own schedule.—<em>M.S.</em></p>
<p><strong>Best Humor Piece<br /></strong>In an essay for the<em> Atlantic</em>'s 150<sup>th</sup> anniversary issue, P.J. O'Rourke delivers a hilarious statistical accounting of American history through marriage rates, lung cancer rates, and the price of codfish. With these figures, the author claims to &quot;prove, disprove, re-prove, and improve more things about America than America has things.&quot;—<em>G.H.</em></p>
<p><strong>Worst Approval-Matrix Item<br /></strong>&quot;I Love New York returns ... with a midget&quot; is ranked as brilliant as it is lowbrow by <em>New York</em>. One of the terms is possibly more applicable than the other.—<em>E.G.</em></p>
<p><strong>Best Advice<br /></strong>In the <em>New</em><em> Republic</em>,<em></em>Michael Kinsley provides an etiquette guide for &quot;receiving psychotic dictators.&quot; Rule No. 1: Don't introduce them as psychotic dictators, since it will probably only make you look as petty as you're saying they are.—<em>D.S.</em></p>
<p><strong>Best Cocktail-Party Fodder<br /></strong>According to <em>Harper's</em>, &quot;Argentine lake ducks have foot-long spiral-shaped penises.&quot; Why? Duck vaginas, which often have &quot;pockets and cul-de-sacs,&quot; spiral in the opposite direction; &quot;as vaginas become longer and more complex, males evolve longer penises.&quot;—<em>E.G.</em></p>Tue, 16 Oct 2007 20:00:00 GMThttp://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/other_magazines/2007/10/blackwater_blues.htmlBrad FloraElizabeth GumportGarin HovannisianJake MelvilleDavid SessionsMorgan Smith2007-10-16T20:00:00ZNewsweek talks to Blackwater's founder.News and PoliticsWhat's worth reading in Newsweek, New York, the New Republic, the Atlantic, the Weekly Standard, The New Yorker, and Harper's.2176046Brad FloraElizabeth GumportGarin HovannisianJake MelvilleDavid SessionsMorgan SmithOther Magazineshttp://www.slate.com/id/2176046falsefalsefalsePamela Anderson's Cake Jobhttp://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/explainer/2007/10/pamela_andersons_cake_job.html
<p> Celebrity news outlets reported this weekend that Pamela Anderson celebrated her <a href="http://www.eonline.com/news/article/index.jsp?uuid=ca456927-e917-4d82-9ba0-4f4678d187a8&amp;sid=fd-hot1-txt">marriage</a> to Rick Salomon with a <a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/gossip/bwiddicombe/2007/10/09/2007-10-09_pamela_andersons_wedding_in_a_class_by_i.html">cardboard wedding cake</a>. The wedding was held at the Mirage Hotel and Casino&nbsp;in Las Vegas, and the fake cake was the supposed result of planners having &quot;only a day&quot; to prepare. Where does a wedding planner&nbsp;get a fake wedding cake?</p>
<p>A fake-cake rental company. Some real bakeries rent real cakes they've created for showroom display. They might also turn out fake cakes on request, but that wouldn't help with a last-minute order. It takes about the same amount of time and money to produce an artificial cake as it does a real one, since most of the effort goes into the decorating—whether you're dealing with angel food or Styrofoam. A dedicated fake-cake rental company can supply a prefab wedding cake for a fraction of the cost of the real thing. These companies can be found in major cities or on the <a href="http://www.cakerental.com/">Internet</a>.</p>
<p>Artificial cakes are&nbsp;decorated exactly like real ones, but use Styrofoam &quot;forms&quot;—structures shaped to mimic the look of tiers—instead of actual cake. The forms are decorated with icing and fondant for an <a href="http://cakerental.com/choose_ready.html">extremely realistic effect</a>. Some decorators use <a href="http://www.baking911.com/decorating/cakes_dummy.htm">drywall spackling paste</a> in place of icing, or a product called <a href="http://www.kitchenkrafts.com/product.asp?pn=CD0400">PermaIce</a>, which mimics the appearance and consistency of regular icing but dries hard as a rock and doesn't lose its color. Fake-cake experts say they would never use cardboard as a base, since it might not bear the weight of the heavy icing and decorations. Styrofoam cakes can be reused indefinitely, at least until they're broken or the icing begins to yellow. </p>
<p>Many artificial wedding cakes also have real components. Sometimes the top tier is an actual cake for cutting; other times the bottom layer will have a <a href="http://www.abc15.com/mediacenter/local.aspx?videoid=7591@knxv.dayport.com&amp;navCatId=22">hidden compartment</a> where real cake (or Twinkies) may be inserted so that the bride and groom can feed each other for photos. Guests at fake-cake receptions are usually served slices of matching sheet cake or individual desserts. This approach will save money: A fake cake can be rented for $100 to $200, while purchasing a comparable real one costs many hundreds of dollars, and sometimes <a href="http://www.10news.com/news/10096396/detail.html">much, much more</a>.</p>
<p>Got a question about today's news? <a href="mailto:ask_the_explainer@yahoo.com">Ask the Explainer</a>. </p>
<p><em>Explainer thanks Nancy Chinnock of Custom Cake Design, Judy Faber of Kreations by Judy, Kimberly Aya of CakeRental.com, and Karin Lutz at the Four Seasons Hotel, Las Vegas.</em></p>Wed, 10 Oct 2007 22:37:00 GMThttp://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/explainer/2007/10/pamela_andersons_cake_job.htmlDavid Sessions2007-10-10T22:37:00ZWhere do you get an artificial wedding cake?News and PoliticsWhere did Pamela Anderson find a fake wedding cake?2175658David SessionsExplainerhttp://www.slate.com/id/2175658falsefalsefalseIn Memoriamhttp://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/other_magazines/2007/10/in_memoriam.html
<p>Today, Other Magazines flips through <em>Newsweek</em>, <em>The New Yorker</em>, <em>New York</em>, and <em>Vanity Fair</em> to find out what's worth your time—and what's not.</p>
<p><strong></strong></p>
<p><strong>Must Read</strong><br />In <em>Vanity Fair</em>, <strong><em>Slate</em></strong> contributor<strong><em></em></strong>Christopher Hitchens <a href="http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/features/2007/11/hitchens200711?currentPage=1">meditates</a> on the death of an American solider he inspired to enlist. (<a href="http://www.slate.com/id/2175284/">Read the article</a> that encouraged the young man to join up.)—<em>G.H.</em></p>
<p><strong>Must Skip<br /></strong><em>Newsweek</em>'s <a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21162321/site/newsweek/">cover story</a> is a lackluster look inside the lives of powerful American women. The magazine lets Arianna Huffington, Kyra Sedgwick, and others write about their own experiences, but none of the testimonials proves inspiring or all that informative.—<em>C.M.</em></p>
<p><strong>Best Get<br /></strong><em>New York</em>'s<em></em>Kurt Andersen <a href="http://nymag.com/news/imperialcity/38948/">protests</a> the use of &quot;speech codes&quot; and &quot;hate crimes&quot; legislation to squelch unpopular speech on campus. Are the very ideas stated by Bill O'Reilly, Larry Summers, and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad really so dangerous?—<em>B.F.</em></p>
<p><strong>Best Politics Piece<br /></strong>If you're sick of hearing about Hillary's laugh, stick around for one more <a href="http://www.newyorker.com/talk/comment/2007/10/15/071015taco_talk_hertzberg">piece</a>. The media's endless lines about the former first lady's giggling are even more amusing when they're all collected in one place.—<em>D.S.</em></p>
<p><strong>Best Business Story<br /></strong><em>Newsweek</em>'s <a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21163804/site/newsweek/page/0/">article</a> on James Dolan explains that his woeful handling of the New York Knicks isn't representative of how he leads Cablevision, his father's multibillion-dollar cable company. While the Knicks' dreadful on- and off-the-court shenanigans paint Dolan as a villain, the piece offers a fuller picture.—<em>C.M.</em></p>
<p><strong>Best Science Piece<br /></strong><em>The New Yorker </em> <a href="http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2007/10/15/071015fa_fact_groopman">reports</a> on breakthroughs in neurology that have provided a window into minds previously assumed to be in &quot;vegetative&quot; states and allowed researchers to pinpoint brain activity on individuals in comas. It offers glimmers of hope for the future of medical science.—<em>D.S.</em></p>
<p><strong>Best Politics Piece<br /></strong>A <em>Vanity Fair</em> feature uncovers the competitive dramas of Clinton's second term characterized by a &quot;triangle of a scandal-ridden lame-duck president, the wife he's betrayed, and his designated successor.&quot;—<em>G.H.</em></p>
<p><strong>Buzz Generator <br /></strong>An article in <em>Vanity Fair</em> reveals that boy-band manufacturer—and alleged swindler—Lou Pearlman wasn't just in the pop music business for the money. The piece alleges that he was after the boys.—<em>G.H.</em></p>
<p><strong>Best Cocktail-Party Fodder<br /></strong><em>New York </em> <a href="http://nymag.com/arts/art/season2007/38983/">features</a> 20 &quot;living, working New Yorkers whose art changed art&quot;—and includes a photo of Jeff Koons' 1988 statue <em>Michael Jackson and Bubbles</em>.—<em>B.F.</em></p>Tue, 09 Oct 2007 21:14:00 GMThttp://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/other_magazines/2007/10/in_memoriam.htmlBrad FloraGarin HovannisianChadwick MatlinDavid Sessions2007-10-09T21:14:00ZIn Vanity Fair, Christopher Hitchens reflects on the death of a soldier whom he inspired to join the armed forces.News and PoliticsWhat's worth reading in Newsweek, New York, The New Yorker, and Vanity Fair.2175610Brad FloraGarin HovannisianChadwick MatlinDavid SessionsOther Magazineshttp://www.slate.com/id/2175610falsefalsefalseDown the Drainhttp://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/other_magazines/2007/10/down_the_drain.html
<p>Today, Other Magazines scrutinizes the <em>New York Times Magazine</em>, <em>Time</em>, and the <em>Economist</em> to find out what's worth reading—and what's not.</p>
<p><strong>Must Read<br /></strong>The <em>New York Times Magazine</em>&nbsp;profiles Kanan Makiya,&nbsp;an Iraqi professor who &quot;made the toppling of Saddam Hussein his life's work.&quot; He campaigned vigorously for the U.S. invasion of Iraq and believed that Hussein's regime was so corrupt that any possible result&nbsp;of&nbsp;the&nbsp;American mission&nbsp;is&nbsp;preferable. Now,&nbsp;Makiya is adjusting his vision in the face of a disappointing war.—<em>D.S</em>.</p>
<p><strong>Best Line<br /></strong>From the <em>Economist</em>'s balanced profile of <a href="http://www.economist.com/world/displaystory.cfm?story_id=9904609">Hillary Clinton</a>, describing the gender gap among her supporters: &quot;If George Bush senior reminded women of their first husband, Mrs. Clinton reminds men of their first wife.&quot;—<em>J.M.</em></p>
<p><strong>Best Statistic<br /></strong>The same<em> Economist</em> piece notes, with some dismay, that &quot;Over 100 million Americans have never known anybody but a Bush or a Clinton in the White House,&quot; suggesting that &quot;American political life is in the hands of a small group of insiders who are organised around semi-royal families.&quot;<em>—J.M. </em></p>
<p><strong>Buzz Generator<br /></strong>A <em>Time</em> feature <a href="http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1668472,00.html">explores</a> the Council for National Policy—a mysterious, invitation-only conservative group—and the fireworks that erupted at its recent Salt Lake City summit, where Christian &quot;virtuecrats&quot; threatened to support a third-party candidate if Republicans nominate pro-choice Giuliani.—<em>B.F.</em></p>
<p><strong>Best Politics Piece<br /></strong><em>Time</em> <a href="http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1668453,00.html">looks</a> at why the Justice Department investigated the Democratic former governor of Alabama on corruption charges while ignoring evidence that several state Republicans had also taken money from the same source.—<em>B.F.</em></p>
<p><strong>Best International Piece<br /></strong>The <em>Economist</em> files a pair of articles on the recent uprisings in Burma. One <a href="http://www.economist.com/world/asia/displaystory.cfm?story_id=9905481">highlights</a> what Burma's neighbors are—or, more precisely, are not—doing to put pressure on the Rangoon government to end the bloodshed. The <a href="http://www.economist.com/world/asia/displaystory.cfm?story_id=9905435">second</a> looks at the poor economy: Although the country is a net exporter of rice, many citizens are malnourished.<em>—J.M. </em></p>
<p><strong>Best Health Piece<br /></strong><em>Time</em>'s <a href="http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1668219,00.html">cover story</a> on &quot;The Changing Face of Breast Cancer&quot; looks beyond U.S. shores to Africa and Asia, where breast cancer, long considered a disease of the white and privileged, is on the rise.—<em>B.F.</em></p>
<p><strong>Best Science Piece<br /></strong>The <em>Economist</em> reports on a <a href="http://www.economist.com/science/displaystory.cfm?story_id=9898270">study</a> investigating the biological roots of patience and fairness. It concludes that chimpanzees (our closest animal relatives) are more patient than humans, but that humans have a more developed sense of &quot;fairness.&quot; Scientists suggest that may be one reason why humans have &quot;come out on top.&quot;<em>—J.M.</em></p>
<p><strong>Best Cocktail-Party Factoid<br /></strong>The Oct. 7 <em>New York Times Magazine</em> reports that David Socha, CEO of a Beverly Hills toy company, has arranged a deal with Wal-Mart to sell his company's Biblical character dolls—Jesus and Mary, to name a couple, as well as more superhero-esque figures such as Goliath and Samson.—<em>D.S.</em></p>Fri, 05 Oct 2007 21:27:00 GMThttp://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/other_magazines/2007/10/down_the_drain.htmlBrad FloraJake MelvilleDavid Sessions2007-10-05T21:27:00ZThe New York Times Magazine profiles an Iraqi intellectual whose goal in life was to topple Saddam.News and PoliticsWhat's worth reading in the New York Times Magazine, Time, and&nbsp;the Economist.2175419Brad FloraJake MelvilleDavid SessionsOther Magazineshttp://www.slate.com/id/2175419falsefalsefalseKorean Barbecuehttp://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/other_magazines/2007/10/korean_barbecue.html
<p>Today, Other Magazines reads through <em>New York</em>, <em>Newsweek</em>, <em>The New Yorker</em>, the <em>Weekly Standard</em>, the <em>New</em><em> Republic</em>, and the <em>Chronicle of Higher Education</em> to find out what pieces are worth reading. </p>
<p><strong>Must Read<br /></strong>An article in <em>The</em><em> New Yorker</em> <a href="http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2007/10/08/071008fa_fact_mead">introduces</a> &quot;Kim Jong Il's guy in New Jersey.&quot; Bobby Egan owns a barbecue restaurant in Hackensack, N.J. The De Niro look-alike is also—improbably—chairman of a trade group that has worked to improve ties between the United States and North Korea.—<em>B.F.</em></p>
<p><strong>Best Bush Critique <br /></strong>The <em>New</em><em> Republic</em><em></em>criticizes Bush's newfound role of &quot;phony budget hawk.&quot; The piece observes that &quot;Bush didn't hesitate to sign off on bloated spending bills—including a $1.2 trillion Medicare prescription-drug benefit—when he thought it might help Republicans keep control of Congress.&quot;—<em>M.S.</em></p>
<p><strong>Best Campaign Coverage<br /></strong>In the <em>New</em><em> Republic</em>, Michael Crowley profiles the stagnating Obama campaign. Crowley asks whether the candidate's recent &quot;flashes of grumpiness&quot;—like when Obama chided a group of people making noise next to the stage as he was making a speech—indicate he won't be able to withstand the rigorous, and sometimes nasty, competition of a primary race.—<em>M.S.</em></p>
<p><strong>Best Line<br /></strong>From <em>New York</em>'s Oct. 8 <a href="http://nymag.com/news/politics/powergrid/38352">article</a> on Giuliani's success with social conservatives: &quot;In political circles, the reaction to the notion that Giuliani—with his record of out-front social liberalism, soap-operatic personal life, and dabbling in transvestism—might actually become the GOP standard-bearer has long been McEnroe-esque: <em>You cannot be serious!</em>&quot;—<em>D.S.</em></p>
<p><strong>Best International Story<br /></strong><em>Newsweek</em> profiles Lt. Gen. <a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21036547/site/newsweek/page/0/">Ashfaq Pervez Kiyani</a>, Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf's likely successor as chief of the armed forces—&quot;the most powerful man in Pakistan.&quot; The piece examines how Musharraf will struggle for power next to Kiyani, a successful former spy, in Pakistan's militarized politics.—<em>J.M.</em></p>
<p><strong>Best Primer<br /></strong>A <em>Weekly Standard</em> <a href="http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/014/174jedwp.asp?pg=1">article</a> on the so-called Saffron Revolution includes a useful rundown on Burmese political history from World War II to the present.—<em>J.L.</em></p>
<p><strong>Best Review<br /></strong><em>New York</em>'s <a href="http://nymag.com/arts/popmusic/reviews/38317">review</a> of Bruce Springsteen's 15<sup>th</sup> studio album, <em>Magic</em>, deftly debases critical myths and locates the Boss' place in the rock music canon. As for the album, it is pleasantly acceptable, mirrors his back catalog, and is above all &quot;a license to tour.&quot;<em>—D.S.</em></p>
<p><strong>Best Get<br /></strong>A <em>New Yorker</em> <a href="http://www.newyorker.com/talk/2007/10/08/071008ta_talk_collins">report</a> from Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's appearance at Columbia University forum does justice to the absurdity of inviting a sitting head of state to speak before a student body whose idea of a protest is to paint &quot;No War&quot; across a bikini top.—<em>B.F.</em></p>
<p><strong>Best Education Piece<br /></strong>The<em> Chronicle of Higher Education</em> investigates the University of Bari, possibly the most corrupt university in Italy, where nepotism is common: &quot;at least six professors have been placed under house arrest pending investigations of hiring practices,&quot; and some instructors allegedly planned &quot;to sell exam questions and even academic degrees.&quot;—<em>G.H.</em></p>
<p><strong>Best Source<br /></strong>In its otherwise stale <a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21049285/site/newsweek/page/0/">profile</a> of Mitt Romney, <em>Newsweek</em> manages to find and interview the Italian foreign-exchange student who stayed with the Romney family when Mitt was 12. His best story: Apparently, Mitt's father let the Italian smoke in the otherwise strictly Mormon house.—<em>J.M.</em></p>
<p><strong>Best Cocktail-Party Factoid<br /></strong><em>Newsweek</em> notes that snack-food company <a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21047602/site/newsweek/page/0/">Frito Lay's</a> efforts to make &quot;healthier&quot; snacks have turned it into the nation's largest buyer of pumpkin.—<em>J.M.</em></p>
<p><em>(Disclosure: <strong>Slate</strong> and </em>Newsweek <em>are owned by the Washington Post Co.)</em></p>Tue, 02 Oct 2007 20:46:00 GMThttp://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/other_magazines/2007/10/korean_barbecue.htmlBrad FloraGarin HovannisianJuliet LapidosJake MelvilleDavid SessionsMorgan Smith2007-10-02T20:46:00ZThe New Yorker on how a New Jersey restaurateur works with North Korea.News and PoliticsWhat's worth reading in The New Yorker, Newsweek, the Weekly Standard, and more.2175195Brad FloraGarin HovannisianJuliet LapidosJake MelvilleDavid SessionsMorgan SmithOther Magazineshttp://www.slate.com/id/2175195falsefalsefalseWhat's Wrong With British Cattle?http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/explainer/2007/09/whats_wrong_with_british_cattle.html
<p> It's been a rough start to the fall for British farmers, with reports of sporadic cases of BSE (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bovine_spongiform_encephalopathy">mad cow disease</a>) and <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/7009806.stm">more cases</a> of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foot_and_mouth_disease">foot-and-mouth disease</a>. And then on Friday, British public health officials officially <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/7018205.stm">pronounced an outbreak</a> of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bluetongue_disease">bluetongue disease</a> among the nation's cattle. So what makes British cattle so sickly?</p>
<p>Heathrow Airport. Agriculture experts say the outbreaks in the United Kingdom are the result of bad luck more than anything else. But the country does have the distinction of being Europe's primary landing spot for global travel, and that could put livestock at risk. Travelers from every continent pass through London Heathrow Airport (the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World's_busiest_airports_by_international_passenger_traffic">busiest airport in the world</a> for international traffic), and with them comes food waste from airplanes. Pathology researchers consider airline food waste, which is sometimes processed into food for livestock, the greatest danger to animal health in the world. Airline garbage that's contaminated with foreign diseases can end up in livestock troughs, or it goes to landfills where it might infect wild animals—who could then spread illness to domesticated livestock.</p>
<p>It's also possible that British cattle are simply the victims of bad publicity. Most European countries, as well as nations in Africa, Asia, and North America, have had confirmed cases of the three major livestock diseases—mad cow, foot and mouth, and bluetongue. But the United Kingdom happens to have one of the best systems in the world for reporting these outbreaks. <a>Since the country </a> was struck with a devastating foot-and-mouth epidemic in 1968, British health officials have developed a surveillance network with a very high degree of transparency. <a href="http://www.slate.com#correction">*</a> This ensures that individual cases of diseases are immediately reported to the government, and appropriate action is taken. So the British cattle may not be any more sickly than those in other parts of the world; they might just be getting watched a bit more closely.</p>
<p>British cattle have had their reputation tarnished by chronic cases of mad cow disease. The origins of that infection remain murky, but it has been strongly linked to <a href="http://www.mad-cow.org/~tom/render_ed.html">changes in the rendering process</a> &nbsp;for food, usually meat particles, fed to livestock. <a href="http://www.slate.com#correction">*</a> Meat that had not been &quot;deactivated,&quot; or made innocuous, infected animals with a malicious, brain-degenerating protein. But shifts in rendering methods were occurring throughout Europe, and not just in the United Kingdom. British farmers may have been the unlucky ones who got struck first.</p>
<p>The United Kingdom has also suffered from the illegal importation of infected livestock. The <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2001_United_Kingdom_foot-and-mouth_crisis">2001 outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease</a>, which delayed British elections and caused millions of animals to be slaughtered, was of Asian origin: Untested swine were sneaked into the country and processed into food for U.K. livestock. This isn't just a British problem, however; all<strong></strong>countries have similar issues with the informal, black-market trade in livestock. And this year's foot-and-mouth outbreak was a complete fluke—a U.K. laboratory <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/europe/08/05/uk.footandmouth/index.html">inadvertently released the virus</a>.</p>
<p>Got a question about the news? Ask the Explainer. </p>
<p><em>Explainer thanks Juan Lubroth <a href="http://www.slate.com#Correct2">*</a> &nbsp;of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization and Greg Stevenson of Purdue University.</em></p>
<p><em><strong> <a>Correction</a>, Oct. 1, 2007:</strong></em><em>This article originally mentioned a late-1960s outbreak of mad cow disease. The outbreak was actually foot-and-mouth disease; mad cow was<br />not discovered until the late-1980s. (</em> <a href="http://www.slate.com#return"><em>Return</em></a><em> to the corrected sentence.) <strong> <a>Correction</a>, Oct. 4, 2007:</strong>This article originally misspelled Juan Lubroth's name. </em></p>Fri, 28 Sep 2007 21:48:00 GMThttp://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/explainer/2007/09/whats_wrong_with_british_cattle.htmlDavid Sessions2007-09-28T21:48:00ZWhy do they get so many diseases?News and PoliticsWhy do British cattle get so many diseases?2174936David SessionsExplainerhttp://www.slate.com/id/2174936falsefalsefalseWhat's with&nbsp;all the disease outbreaks?Hermit in Chiefhttp://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/other_magazines/2007/09/hermit_in_chief.html
<p>Today, Other Magazines combs through <em>The New Yorker</em>, <em>Vanity Fair</em>, <em>Portfolio</em>, the <em>Weekly Standard</em>, <em>New York</em>, and <em>Newsweek </em>to find out what pieces are worth your time.</p>
<p><strong>Must-Read<br /></strong><em>Vanity Fair</em> explores the isolation of second-term presidents and President Bush's special penchant for insularity. The piece says that in this last stretch of his presidency, &quot;Bush is waiting for the Rapture, confident that he will be saved, validated, the unpleasant earthly realities of the moment be damned.&quot;—<em>M.S.</em></p>
<p><strong>Buzz Generator<br /></strong>A <a href="http://www.nymag.com/news/sports/38001">feature</a> in the Oct. 1 issue of <em>New York</em> attacks the conventional wisdom about exercise and weight loss. The piece argues that exercise makes us eat more, offsetting calories burned at the gym. But the article glosses over the other potential health benefits of working out.<em>—D.S.</em></p>
<p><strong>Don't Bother <br /></strong><em>Portfolio</em>'s lackluster and dated <a href="http://www.portfolio.com/news-markets/international-news/portfolio/2007/09/17/Chiquita-Death-Squads">cover story</a> examines the flap over Chiquita's payments to a Colombian guerilla group that the U.S. classifies as a terrorist organization. The piece doesn't offer much new, mainly because it fails to penetrate the Chiquita executives' behind-closed-doors meetings.—<em>C.M.</em></p>
<p><strong>Best Get<br /></strong>In <em>New York</em>, former Pakistan Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto <a href="http://nymag.com/news/intelligencer/38043/">gives political advice</a> to Hillary Clinton.<em>—D.S.</em></p>
<p><strong>Best Profile <br /></strong>A <a href="http://www.portfolio.com/culture-lifestyle/culture-inc/arts/2007/09/17/Time-Warner-Superman-Suit">piece</a> in <em>Portfolio</em> illuminates the shadowy world of Marc Toberoff, whose relentless lawsuits against movie studios for copyright violations has made him &quot;the most hated man in Hollywood.&quot; The magazine avoids painting Toberoff as an opportunistic jerk and instead imbues him with charm.—<em>C.M.</em></p>
<p><strong>Best International Story <br /></strong><em>Newsweek</em> <a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20920340/site/newsweek/">highlights</a> Sudanese businessman Mo Ibrahim's plan to promote good governance in Sub-Saharan Africa: cash. The entrepreneur plans to offer a $5 million prize to democratically elected presidents who step down after their terms &quot;with no dark clouds over their tenure.&quot; Skeptics ask: Will it work?—<em>J.M.</em></p>
<p><strong>Notable Debut<br /></strong>In his first <a href="http://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/books/2007/10/01/071001crbo_books_wood">article</a> as <em>The New Yorker</em>'s book critic, James Wood writes worshipfully about Robert Alter's new edition of <em>The Book of Psalms</em>, calling the translation &quot;radical&quot; and the translator &quot;musically and poetically sensitive.&quot;—<em>E.G.</em></p>
<p><strong>Best Technology Story<br /></strong>The<em> Weekly Standard</em> <a href="http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/014/145mliuh.asp">visits the third annual Second Life Community Convention</a> in Chicago. The piece dismisses claims that Second Life is a cutting-edge world of tomorrow—not because the virtual world is a fad, but because its users are neither as young nor as diverse as its handlers would have you think.—<em>B.F. </em></p>
<p><strong>Best &quot;Talk of the Town&quot; Item<br /></strong><em>The New Yorker</em> <a href="http://www.newyorker.com/talk/2007/10/01/071001ta_talk_paumgarten">examines</a> the musical expertise of Janet Reno, who discusses her karaoke experiences, the rap 2 Live Crew wrote for her, and &quot;Songs of America,&quot; the folk collection she helped produce.—<em>E.G.</em></p>
<p><strong>Most Amusing Feature<br /></strong><em>Vanity Fair</em> asks if you know your &quot;Asshole Footprint.&quot; Offending behaviors include working in an office with a Foosball or Ping-Pong table and being incapable of &quot;passing even the smallest blip of solitary time without theatrically scrolling or tapping on your BlackBerry, Treo, or iPhone.&quot;—<em>M.S.</em></p>Tue, 25 Sep 2007 21:08:00 GMThttp://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/other_magazines/2007/09/hermit_in_chief.htmlBrad FloraElizabeth GumportChadwick MatlinJake MelvilleDavid SessionsMorgan Smith2007-09-25T21:08:00ZVanity Fair explains how Bush, like many second-term presidents, became increasingly isolated.News and PoliticsWhat to read in New York, The New Yorker, Newsweek, and more.2174765Brad FloraElizabeth GumportChadwick MatlinJake MelvilleDavid SessionsMorgan SmithOther Magazineshttp://www.slate.com/id/2174765falsefalsefalseIraq Position Locatorhttp://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/the_gist/2007/09/iraq_position_locator.html
<p> With a slew of recent reports gauging the success of the &quot;surge,&quot; everyone from presidential candidates to lawmakers to pundits has been staking out positions on Iraq. Again. In the four and a half years since the invasion of Baghdad, leaders have taken so many stances on the war—Stay the course! Troops out now! Clear and hold!—that it's become tough to remember who said what when. To clear things up a bit, we've put together a guide to what people said about the Iraq invasion back in 2003, what they've said along the way, and what they say now.</p>
<p><strong><em>Click </em></strong> <a href="http://www.slate.com/features/iraqposition/"><strong><em>here</em></strong></a><strong><em> to see the Iraq Position Locator.</em></strong></p>
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<p>.</p>Fri, 21 Sep 2007 22:25:00 GMThttp://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/the_gist/2007/09/iraq_position_locator.htmlChristopher BeamDavid SessionsMorgan Smith2007-09-21T22:25:00ZA handy guide to what politicians, pundits, and others have said about the surge.News and PoliticsA guide to the Iraq surge.2173906Christopher BeamDavid SessionsMorgan SmithThe Slate Gisthttp://www.slate.com/id/2173906falsefalsefalseJohn Paul Stevens, Conservativehttp://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/other_magazines/2007/09/john_paul_stevens_conservative.html
<p>Today, Other Magazines debuts a new format that will help you sort through magazines and find out what's worth your time—and what's not. Today, we're reviewing <em>Time</em>, <em>Radar</em>, <em>Wired, </em>the<em> New Republic, New York</em>, and the <em>New York Times Magazine</em>. </p>
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<p><strong>Must-Read of the Week<br /></strong>The Sept. 23 <a href="http://select.nytimes.com/preview/2007/09/23/magazine/1154689944149.html?adxnnl=1&amp;pagewanted=all&amp;adxnnlx=1190262635-hjsH9hcx+lPey/oToqffhQ">cover story</a> of the <em>New York Times Magazine </em>profiles Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens. Though he's known as the most liberal of the justices, Stevens reveals that he considers himself a political and judicial conservative. Elsewhere in the engaging piece, he explains why the <em>Roe v. Wade </em>opinion—a decision he joined—&quot;doesn't make sense,&quot; and insists that he won't retire any time soon.—<em>D.S.</em></p>
<p><strong>Sharpest Political Analysis<br /></strong>In <em>Time,</em><strong><em>Slate </em></strong>founder Michael Kinsley <a href="http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1663424,00.html">dismantles</a> the &quot;wonderful world of umbrage&quot; that arose in the wake of the MoveOn.org ad calling Gen. David&nbsp;Petraeus &quot;General Betray-us.&quot;&nbsp; He argues that the &quot;choreography&quot; of the right is nothing more than that fatal sin of the left: political correctness.—<em>J.M.</em></p>
<p><strong>Weirdest Stunt<br /></strong><em>Radar</em>'s Fresh Intelligence department sent $5 donations to the campaigns of Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, Rudy Giuliani, and Mitt Romney in the name of notable racists, pedophiles, and perverts. &quot;All four candidates accepted our dirty money without a second thought.&quot;—<em>G.H.</em></p>
<p><strong>Most Alarming Statistic<br /></strong>The<em> New Republic</em>'s <a href="http://www.tnr.com/doc.mhtml?i=20070924&amp;s=coyne092407">piece</a> on the dangers of human-caused mass extinctions notes, &quot;Of the roughly 250,000 plant species on Earth, fewer than 5 percent have been screened for pharmaceutical properties.&quot;<em>—J.M.</em></p>
<p><strong>Business Piece of the Week <br /></strong>The <em>Economist</em>'s <a href="http://economist.com/opinion/displaystory.cfm?story_id=9833056">cover story</a><em></em>curtails any hopes that Bernanke's big interest-rate cut will save global money markets.—<em>M.S.</em></p>
<p><strong>Technology Piece of the Week<br /></strong><em>Wired</em> serves up a terse&nbsp; <a href="http://www.wired.com/politics/security/magazine/15-09/ff_estonia">blow-by-blow recap</a> of last spring's cyber-assualt on Estonian servers and heads to Moscow for a rendezvous with&nbsp;a 21-year-old hacker who claims involvement. Unsurprisingly, he's now offering his services to the highest bidder.—<em>B.F.</em></p>
<p><strong>Sports Piece of the Week<br /></strong>An excellent piece in <em>Time </em>examines the moral flexibility of <a href="http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1663863,00.html">sports fans</a>. Example: &quot;According to a 1999 study by psychologists at Murray State, a significant minority of fans—if guaranteed anonymity—would even support injuring an opposing player or coach.&quot;—<em>J.M.</em></p>
<p><strong>Oddest Approval-Matrix Placement<br /></strong>As usual, the good people of <em>New York</em> have some suspicious judgment calls: Jon Stewart as Oscar host is highbrow?—<em>J.L.</em></p>
<p><strong>Best Animal-Related Cocktail Chatter<br /></strong><em>New York</em> <a href="http://nymag.com/news/intelligencer/37670/">reports</a> that PETA, emboldened, perhaps, by the Michael Vick case, has set its sights on &quot;a new target: Orthodox Jews in Brooklyn who swing live chickens in the air to symbolically transfer their sins to the birds.&quot;—<em>J.L.</em></p>
<p><strong>Best Cocktail-Related Cocktail Chatter</strong><br /><em>Radar</em> notes chef Anthony Bourdain's disgust with some of dining's hottest trends, like the rise of the chocolate martini. &quot;Both chocolate and liquor are good in bars, but ordering them together announces that you don't like or appreciate either.&quot;—<em>G.H.</em></p>Fri, 21 Sep 2007 20:44:00 GMThttp://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/other_magazines/2007/09/john_paul_stevens_conservative.htmlBrad FloraGarin HovannisianJuliet LapidosJake MelvilleDavid SessionsMorgan Smith2007-09-21T20:44:00ZThe New York Times Magazine's must-read profile on the Supreme Court justice you think you know.News and PoliticsWhat you should read in New York, the Economist, Time, and more.2174546Brad FloraGarin HovannisianJuliet LapidosJake MelvilleDavid SessionsMorgan SmithOther Magazineshttp://www.slate.com/id/2174546falsefalsefalseGreenspan's Back!http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/other_magazines/2007/09/greenspans_back.html
<p><strong><em> Newsweek</em></strong>, Sept. 24 The <a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20803168/site/newsweek/">cover story</a> is part of a package that includes a forward-looking <a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20789997/site/newsweek/">excerpt</a> of Alan Greenspan's new book. The pieces that accompany the excerpt are informative, but the selection itself isn't the most appropriate. Instead of publishing the book's harshly worded critique of George W. Bush's administration, the piece is a forecast of the global economy through 2030. While Greenspan's ideas are interesting, he admits that they're abstract thoughts and could change, particularly if unexpected events steer the economy downward. <strong>…</strong> A <a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20789357/site/newsweek/">piece</a> on how Iraqis put themselves in peril by helping Americans is old news, but it still manages to illustrate how difficult it is for Iraqis to assist U.S. diplomats and military forces. It tells the well-crafted story of two parents' efforts to rebuild Iraq and find legal outlets for their children to emigrate. At one point, it half-heartedly tries to call attention to the growing numbers of Iraqi refugees, but it does best when it concentrates on its central characters' tragic story.<em>—C.M.</em></p>
<p><strong><em> The New Yorker</em></strong>, Sept. 24 In the magazine's Style issue, Oliver Sacks <a href="http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2007/09/24/070924fa_fact_sacks">writes</a> about Clive Wearing, a man who suffers from &quot;the most devastating case of amnesia ever recorded.&quot; A brain infection reduced his memory span to mere seconds and rendered him unable to recall much of his past life. But Wearing, once a prominent musician and musicologist, still retains his love for his wife, Deborah, and his musical capabilities. The music allows Wearing to exist in a perpetual present, a world in which&nbsp;the notes bubble up to fill the riverbed of his mind, and thus propels him through a life he cannot remember. <strong>…</strong> James Surowiecki reports on the controversial mimicry of retailers like H&amp;M and Zara, which&nbsp;imitate the work of high-end designers&nbsp;and sell these copies&nbsp;at a significantly reduced rate. They aren't counterfeiters, but the practice nonetheless rankles many top designers. Surowiecki argues that the big brands require these copiers: &quot;[F]or the industry to keep growing, customers must like this year's designs, but they also must become dissatisfied with them, so they'll buy next year's.&quot;— <em>E.G.</em></p>
<p><strong><em> Weekly Standard</em></strong>, Sept. 24 The <a href="http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/014/118xfsjy.asp?pg=1">cover story</a> rails against the &quot;big-government conservatism&quot; that produced No Child Left Behind. The legislation requires big-government oversight, slows the whole pack to make sure the weakest can keep up, and &quot;makes a fetish of racial classification; it is, indeed, the most explicitly racialist piece of legislation since the fall of Jim Crow.&quot; According to the writer, big-government conservatism emerged out of the pre-Bush days when governorships were the primary force for conservative change. The piece is at times intriguing, but often gets mired in dense policy details. <strong>…</strong> In an obviously partisan but interesting <a href="http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/014/111tzicn.asp?pg=1">column</a>, Fred Barnes argues that Gen. David Petraeus' testimony last week slowed Washington's race &quot;toward full-blown rejection of America's intervention in Iraq.&quot; For the Democrats, the testimony was &quot;a wrenching ordeal&quot; because it made their calls for withdrawal appear hasty and ill-informed. The Democrats failed to distinguish themselves while questioning the general, proving, according to Barnes, that the presence of a serious war expert is the &quot;scariest&quot; thing they have to confront.— <em>D.S.</em></p>
<p><strong><em>New York Review of Books</em>, Sept. 27<br /></strong>An <a href="http://www.nybooks.com/articles/20593">article</a> on Al Gore's <em>The Assault on Reason</em> raises the familiar-feeling point that the former vice president &quot;has flourished as a prophetic citizen&quot; now that he's been &quot;freed finally from the demands of politics and the burden of expectations that has been with him all his life.&quot; Still, the piece ventures interestingly into the grass-roots mania behind DraftGore.com, home to such strange campaign paraphernalia as a Woody Guthrie-style folk song, &quot;Run Al Run!&quot; and a poster that depicts &quot;Gore as a latter-day Zapata.&quot; <strong>…</strong> A <a href="http://www.nybooks.com/articles/20571">review</a> of <em>Send</em>, an e-mail etiquette manual, explores the angst senders and receivers inject into online communication. Authors Shipley and Schwalbe advise their readers to &quot;consciously insert tone into an email,&quot; cautioning them that &quot;the message written without regard to tone becomes a blank screen onto which the reader projects his own fears, prejudices and anxieties.&quot; Their solution for the toneless e-mail? The <a href="http://www.slate.com/id/2173076/">exclamation point</a>.—<em>M.S.</em></p>
<p> <strong><em>Time</em>, Sept. 14</strong> The <a href="http://www.time.com/time/specials/2007/article/0,28804,1660946_1661334_1661288,00.html">cover story</a> looks at the changing role spouses are playing in this year's presidential campaign. Spouses getting involved in their husband's administration are nothing new, as evidenced by Abigail Adams and Eleanor Roosevelt. But the writer argues that while a spouse's influence hasn't changed, the amount of public exposure has. Elizabeth Edwards and Michelle Obama campaigning for their husbands are only the most obvious examples. The article also devotes a significant portion to the next big thing in presidential spousal roles: first husband. <strong>…</strong> An <a href="http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1661688,00.html">article focuses</a> on the efforts of some gym teachers to increase childhood exercise by, of all things, purchasing video game equipment. Kids aren't playing Halo 3 but &quot;exergaming systems&quot;—games like Dance Dance Revolution, where moving your body controls the game. Studies suggest that some exergames may be better than, say, walking on a treadmill, but there is no word on how it performs compared with traditional gym-class aerobic activities, like soccer. It's an insidious effort, suggests one pro-exergaming social worker: &quot;We are tricking them into exercising.&quot;— <em>J.M.</em></p>
<p><strong><em> Economist</em></strong>, Sept. 15 The nuanced cover <a href="http://economist.com/opinion/displaystory.cfm?story_id=9804115">editorial</a> offers a gloomy prognosis for the war in Iraq but, nevertheless, concludes that American forces should stay. The magazine was not impressed by Gen. David Patraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker's testimony this week, as &quot;the spin General Petraeus put on the military achievements of the surge exaggerated the gains.&quot; The writers make their distaste for the situation abundantly clear but argue, &quot;America owes something to Iraq's people&quot; for having self-interestedly invaded their country. The war may already be the complete failure that the Democrats are calling it, but at the moment we have no way of being completely certain.&quot;<strong>…</strong> An <a href="http://economist.com/opinion/displaystory.cfm?story_id=9804075">article</a> criticizes the relaxed U.S. reaction to the overthrow of Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. Sharif was an &quot;appalling&quot; leader but &quot;represents something without which democracy cannot thrive—a real political movement with popular support.&quot; His successor has shown no evidence that he's interested in returning to democracy. American spokespeople called the developments &quot;an internal matter,&quot; but they're wrong: &quot;Whether Pakistan moves back to democracy, or is condemned to authoritarianism, is of great interest to America, and the rest of the world.&quot;<em>—D.S. </em></p>
<p><strong><em> Atlantic</em></strong>, <strong>October 2007<br /></strong> A superb <a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200710/clinton-foundation">cover story</a> on Bill Clinton's philanthropic endeavors artfully describes how the former president is trying to change the face of philanthropy for years to come. The piece outlines the business model of the Clinton Foundation's Climate Initiative and its efforts to curb harmful emissions by focusing on profit margins and market economics. Clinton and his partner Ira Magaziner, who spearheaded Clinton's failed universal health-care proposal in 1993, are convinced that inviting the private sector into the energy market is the only way to make energy-efficient products available enough to change consumers' behavior. If this article is any indication, Clinton has certainly convinced the press that his brand of philanthropy has revolutionary potential. <strong>…</strong> The magazine adds more fodder to the mainstream media's canon of Facebook.com articles with an above-average <a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200710/facebook">piece</a>. This iteration analyzes Facebook's not-so-recent decision to allow third-party developers to design applications for the social networking site. The piece's rational thesis is that Facebook's &quot;walled-garden&quot; approach may succeed because users are so overwhelmed by the vast infinity the Internet has to offer outside of the site's confines.<em>—C.M.</em></p>
<p></p>
<p> <strong><em>New York</em>, Sept. 17</strong> An enterprising New Yorker tells the hilarious, fascinating <a href="http://nymag.com/restaurants/features/37273">story</a> of creating a tiny farm in his 800-square-foot Brooklyn back yard. To put to the test the arguments of the &quot;locavore&quot; movement—that people should eat only what's grown within a few miles of their home—he planned to live exclusively off the farm for one month. But he's hardly begun before the forces of nature interfere: withering plants, cannibalistic rabbits,&nbsp;a psychotic egg-eating chicken, and, finally, a tornado. He loves the taste of the homegrown food, but after spending $11,000 and severing a finger, he concludes that it's &quot;miserable, soul-crushing work.&quot;<strong>…</strong> An article <a href="http://nymag.com/news/media/37257/">profiles</a> a brash man: <em>New York Post</em> Editor Col Allan, an Australian whom one friend says &quot;can drink just about anybody I know, with the exception of Christopher Hitchens, under many tables.&quot; Amid a flurry of <em>Post</em> scandals that include favor-trading and strip-club visits, Allan remains as defiant and offensive as his paper's bold headlines. He hates the hyprocrisy of his detractors and knows &quot;what a glass house looks like.&quot;— <em>D.S.</em></p>
<p><strong><em>New York Times Magazine</em>, Sept. 16<br /></strong>A comprehensive cover story looks at the &quot;flip-flop rhythm of science&quot; through the lens of hormone replacement therapy. It was initially thought to prevent heart attacks and osteoporosis in women, but a later study concluded that it led to a higher risk of stroke, blood clots, and breast cancer. The writer warns that any of a number of clinical biases, statistical variations, and the public's tendency to quickly jump to conclusions makes studying chronic diseases an inexact art at best, an impossible endeavor at worst. The conclusion is, like all good advice, common sense: &quot;[R]emain skeptical.&quot; <strong>…</strong> &nbsp;A fascinating profile of Russian/Israeli diamond mogul Lev Leviev investigates the intersection of religion and business in the life of &quot;the man who broke De Beers international diamond cartel.&quot; The world's 210<sup>th</sup> richest man spends his time expanding his business empire, leveraging his estimated $4 billion&nbsp;to $8 billion fortune to advance his fundamentalist Chabad brand of Judaism through schools and community-building. He also takes potshots at Warren Buffet when he can: &quot;A lot of very rich men wait too long to give their money away.&quot;—<em>J.M.</em></p>
<p><em><em><strong> National Review</strong></em></em><strong>, Sept. 24</strong> In a fat, six-part editorial, the magazine's editors reconstruct the strategic and moral case for staying and winning in Iraq. &quot;This war can still be won, but only if we have the nerve and patience to see it through.&quot;<strong>…</strong> An article on the recent disrobing of Sen. Larry Craig muses over the secret life of the undercover cop who busted him. &quot;What a job! Did he, I wonder, go to work every morning (if that is when he set out for work) with a song in his heart? Did he tell his wife the nature of his current posting, and in what detail?&quot;<strong>…</strong> An essay explains and forgives the Mother Teresa's crisis of faith, revealed in recently released private correspondences in which the Catholic nun described her inability to feel the presence of God. &quot;They are not really signs of doubt, although at times they feel like that. They are in fact signs of Christian adulthood. …&quot;—<em>G.H.</em></p>Mon, 17 Sep 2007 19:35:00 GMThttp://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/other_magazines/2007/09/greenspans_back.htmlElizabeth GumportGarin HovannisianChadwick MatlinJake MelvilleDavid SessionsMorgan Smith2007-09-17T19:35:00ZNewsweek publishes&nbsp;excerpts from Alan Greenspan's new book.News and PoliticsWhat's new&nbsp;in The New Yorker, the New York Review of Books, and more.2174116Elizabeth GumportGarin HovannisianChadwick MatlinJake MelvilleDavid SessionsMorgan SmithOther Magazineshttp://www.slate.com/id/2174116falsefalsefalseHow Hot Is Iraq?http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/explainer/2007/09/how_hot_is_iraq.html
<p> Yesterday, John McCain <a href="http://www.siouxcityjournal.com/articles/2007/09/12/news/top/2e7247483b21a8b086257354000f5cca.txt">told</a> supporters in Iowa that U.S. soldiers are &quot;carrying 40 pounds of body armor in 130-degree temperatures.&quot; Run a quick Google News <a href="http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&amp;ned=us&amp;ie=UTF-8&amp;q=iraq+130+degree&amp;btnG=Search">search</a>, and you'll find numerous references to Iraq's sweltering &quot;130-degree&quot; weather. It's in the <em> <a href="http://www.philly.com/dailynews/opinion/20070910_WHATS_BUSH_PLAYING_AT_.html">Philadelphia Daily News</a></em>, the <em> <a href="http://www.projo.com/news/bobkerr/Kerr_column_05_09-05-07_K7708V9.2f93a2a.html">Providence Journal</a></em>, the <em> <a href="http://www.tucsoncitizen.com/daily/local/60924.php">Tucson Citizen</a></em>, <em> <a href="http://blog.wired.com/defense/2007/09/most-dangerous-.html">Wired</a></em>, and even <a href="http://armyofdude.blogspot.com/2007/08/i-can-taste-it.html">on military blogs</a>. But according to this <a href="http://www.magazine.noaa.gov/stories/mag87.htm">government Web site</a>, the highest temperature ever recorded in Asia is 124 degrees—in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. So, how hot does it really get in Iraq?</p>
<p>The temperature never breaks 130 degrees, according to <a href="http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/climate/afghan/iraqnarrative.html">official climate records</a>. A 2007 <a href="http://www.afweather.af.mil/">Air Force Weather Agency</a> report on Iraq's summer weather also marks the record at 124 degrees, with mean highs for July and August at 110 degrees. And Iraq is always dry, so the <a href="http://www.slate.com/id/2123486/">heat index</a> won't be much higher than the actual temperature. </p>
<p>Then why do so many people talk like 130-degree temperatures are a daily occurrence in Iraq? Bad equipment, for one thing. Soldiers and travelers often measure the temperature with personal thermometers, which tend to give inaccurate readings. Command posts sometimes place thermometers on their outside walls or other locations within their encampments, but these thermometers are also cheap and unscientific; one solider described them as the kind of thing you'd pick up from Wal-Mart or see in someone's garden. </p>
<p>But even a perfectly functioning thermometer, if placed on a solid surface, is likely to deliver higher readings than one set up in an open, breezy area. In general, a solid object absorbs more heat than an equivalent volume of air and can rise to a higher temperature given the same amount of sunlight. An instrument placed on sand or concrete will absorb heat from that surface—obscuring (and inflating) the actual air temperature. So, depending on where it's sitting, a surface thermometer can be off by more than 10 degrees. That's why professional meteorologists prefer to measure the temperature in a ventilated location, and never set up their instruments on heat-conducting surfaces like sand, concrete, or asphalt. </p>
<p>Got a question about today's news? <a href="mailto:ask_the_explainer@yahoo.com">Ask the Explainer</a>.<em></em></p>
<p><em>Explainer thanks Bret Hayworth of the </em>Sioux City Journal,<em> Paul Rieckhoff of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, and Scott Stephens of the National Climatic Data Center. Thanks also to reader Dave Anderson for asking the question.</em></p>Wed, 12 Sep 2007 21:08:00 GMThttp://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/explainer/2007/09/how_hot_is_iraq.htmlDavid Sessions2007-09-12T21:08:00ZWhy does everyone think it's 130 degrees?News and PoliticsDoes it really get up to 130 degrees in Iraq?2173818David SessionsExplainerhttp://www.slate.com/id/2173818falsefalsefalseWhite-House Wiveshttp://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/other_magazines/2007/09/whitehouse_wives.html
<p><strong><em> Time</em></strong>, Sept. 14 The <a href="http://www.time.com/time/specials/2007/article/0,28804,1660946_1661334_1661288,00.html">cover story</a> looks at the changing role spouses are playing in this year's presidential campaign. Spouses getting involved in their husband's administration are nothing new, as evidenced by Abigail Adams and Eleanor Roosevelt. But the writer argues that while a spouse's influence hasn't changed, the amount of public exposure has. Elizabeth Edwards and Michelle Obama campaigning for their husbands are only the most obvious examples. The article also devotes a significant portion to the next big thing in presidential spousal roles: first husband. <strong>…</strong> An <a href="http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1661688,00.html">article focuses</a> on the efforts of some gym teachers to increase childhood exercise by, of all things, purchasing video game equipment. Kids aren't playing Halo 3 but &quot;exergaming systems&quot;—games like Dance Dance Revolution, where moving your body controls the game. Studies suggest that some exergames may be better than, say, walking on a treadmill, but there is no word on how it performs compared with traditional gym-class aerobic activities, like soccer. It's an insidious effort, suggests one pro-exergaming social worker: &quot;We are tricking them into exercising.&quot;— <em>J.M.</em></p>
<p><strong><em> Economist</em></strong>, Sept. 15 The nuanced cover <a href="http://economist.com/opinion/displaystory.cfm?story_id=9804115">editorial</a> offers a gloomy prognosis for the war in Iraq but, nevertheless, concludes that American forces should stay. The magazine was not impressed by Gen. David Patraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker's testimony this week, as &quot;the spin General Petraeus put on the military achievements of the surge exaggerated the gains.&quot; The writers make their distaste for the situation abundantly clear but argue, &quot;America owes something to Iraq's people&quot; for having self-interestedly invaded their country. The war may already be the complete failure that the Democrats are calling it, but at the moment we have no way of being completely certain.&quot;<strong>…</strong> An <a href="http://economist.com/opinion/displaystory.cfm?story_id=9804075">article</a> criticizes the relaxed U.S. reaction to the overthrow of Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. Sharif was an &quot;appalling&quot; leader but &quot;represents something without which democracy cannot thrive—a real political movement with popular support.&quot; His successor has shown no evidence that he's interested in returning to democracy. American spokespeople called the developments &quot;an internal matter,&quot; but they're wrong: &quot;Whether Pakistan moves back to democracy, or is condemned to authoritarianism, is of great interest to America, and the rest of the world.&quot;<em>—D.S. </em></p>
<p><strong><em> Atlantic</em></strong>, <strong>October 2007<br /></strong> A superb <a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200710/clinton-foundation">cover story</a> on Bill Clinton's philanthropic endeavors artfully describes how the former president is trying to change the face of philanthropy for years to come. The piece outlines the business model of the Clinton Foundation's Climate Initiative and its efforts to curb harmful emissions by focusing on profit margins and market economics. Clinton and his partner Ira Magaziner, who spearheaded Clinton's failed universal health-care proposal in 1993, are convinced that inviting the private sector into the energy market is the only way to make energy-efficient products available enough to change consumers' behavior. If this article is any indication, Clinton has certainly convinced the press that his brand of philanthropy has revolutionary potential. <strong>…</strong> The magazine adds more fodder to the mainstream media's canon of Facebook.com articles with an above-average <a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200710/facebook">piece</a>. This iteration analyzes Facebook's not-so-recent decision to allow third-party developers to design applications for the social networking site. The piece's rational thesis is that Facebook's &quot;walled-garden&quot; approach may succeed because users are so overwhelmed by the vast infinity the Internet has to offer outside of the site's confines.<em>—C.M.</em></p>
<p></p>
<p> <strong><em>New York</em>, Sept. 17</strong> An enterprising New Yorker tells the hilarious, fascinating <a href="http://nymag.com/restaurants/features/37273">story</a> of creating a tiny farm in his 800-square-foot Brooklyn back yard. To put to the test the arguments of the &quot;locavore&quot; movement—that people should eat only what's grown within a few miles of their home—he planned to live exclusively off the farm for one month. But he's hardly begun before the forces of nature interfere: withering plants, cannibalistic rabbits,&nbsp;a psychotic egg-eating chicken, and, finally, a tornado. He loves the taste of the homegrown food, but after spending $11,000 and severing a finger, he concludes that it's &quot;miserable, soul-crushing work.&quot;<strong>…</strong> An article <a href="http://nymag.com/news/media/37257/">profiles</a> a brash man: <em>New York Post</em> Editor Col Allan, an Australian whom one friend says &quot;can drink just about anybody I know, with the exception of Christopher Hitchens, under many tables.&quot; Amid a flurry of <em>Post</em> scandals that include favor-trading and strip-club visits, Allan remains as defiant and offensive as his paper's bold headlines. He hates the hyprocrisy of his detractors and knows &quot;what a glass house looks like.&quot;— <em>D.S.</em></p>
<p><strong><em>New York Times Magazine</em>, Sept. 16<br /></strong>A comprehensive cover story looks at the &quot;flip-flop rhythm of science&quot; through the lens of hormone replacement therapy. It was initially thought to prevent heart attacks and osteoporosis in women, but a later study concluded that it led to a higher risk of stroke, blood clots, and breast cancer. The writer warns that any of a number of clinical biases, statistical variations, and the public's tendency to quickly jump to conclusions makes studying chronic diseases an inexact art at best, an impossible endeavor at worst. The conclusion is, like all good advice, common sense: &quot;[R]emain skeptical.&quot; <strong>…</strong> &nbsp;A fascinating profile of Russian/Israeli diamond mogul Lev Leviev investigates the intersection of religion and business in the life of &quot;the man who broke De Beers international diamond cartel.&quot; The world's 210<sup>th</sup> richest man spends his time expanding his business empire, leveraging his estimated $4 billion&nbsp;to $8 billion fortune to advance his fundamentalist Chabad brand of Judaism through schools and community-building. He also takes potshots at Warren Buffet when he can: &quot;A lot of very rich men wait too long to give their money away.&quot;—<em>J.M.</em></p>
<p><em><em><strong> National Review</strong></em></em><strong>, Sept. 24</strong> In a fat, six-part editorial, the magazine's editors reconstruct the strategic and moral case for staying and winning in Iraq. &quot;This war can still be won, but only if we have the nerve and patience to see it through.&quot;<strong>…</strong> An article on the recent disrobing of Sen. Larry Craig muses over the secret life of the undercover cop who busted him. &quot;What a job! Did he, I wonder, go to work every morning (if that is when he set out for work) with a song in his heart? Did he tell his wife the nature of his current posting, and in what detail?&quot;<strong>…</strong> An essay explains and forgives the Mother Teresa's crisis of faith, revealed in recently released private correspondences in which the Catholic nun described her inability to feel the presence of God. &quot;They are not really signs of doubt, although at times they feel like that. They are in fact signs of Christian adulthood. …&quot;—<em>G.H.</em></p>
<p> <em><strong>Newsweek</strong></em><strong>, Sept. 17<br /></strong>The <a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20649206/site/newsweek/">cover story</a> takes a long view of Hillary Clinton, from her days as first lady to the present. There's no breaking news here, but the article does a fine job tracking how Clinton learned from her mistakes after the health care fiasco. &quot;Hillary Care&quot; was &quot;too big, too unwieldy,&quot; and Clinton tried to force the plan through without consulting leading Democrats, let alone Republicans. But these days she &quot;dive[s] into the small-detail stuff&quot; like &quot;Dear Colleague&quot; letters and has worked closely with ultraconservative Trent Lott. <strong>…</strong> An <a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20657203/site/newsweek/">article</a> examines why just one-quarter of the country's 3 million teachers are male—the lowest rate in 40 years. Top three reasons: The starting salary is low, just $30,000; &quot;grown men who express physical affection for small children can be accused of being pedophiles;&quot; and the old stereotype that men &quot;lack nurturing skills.&quot; So what, you ask? The graduation rate for boys is lower than for girls—a gap that might have something to do with the shortage of male role models.—<em>J.L.</em></p>
<p><strong><em> The New Yorker</em></strong>, Sept. 17, 2007<br /> A George Packer <a href="http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2007/09/17/070917fa_fact_packer">essay</a> amply covers the consequences of withdrawal from Iraq and delivers a counterpoint to Gen. David Petraeus' likely &quot;unremarkable&quot; assessment before Congress of the U.S. troop surge in Iraq. For Packer, the &quot;inadequacy of the surge is already clear, if one honestly assesses the daily lives of Iraqis,&quot; and he predicts a grim future for Iraq, with or without the presence of U.S. troops. <strong>…</strong> A <a href="http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2007/09/17/070917fa_fact_lizza">piece</a> focuses on the defining dynamic of the Democratic primaries: responding to the Clinton years. In each election since his presidency, &quot;the field [has] narrowed to a Clinton candidate and an anti-Clinton candidate.&quot; In 2008, it's obvious who the Clinton candidate is, but how will she navigate that politically fraught territory? Hillary Clinton puts it succinctly: &quot;Any Democrat who rejects the only two-term Democratic President we've had since Franklin Roosevelt is rejecting an important part of how we are in a position to be able to run and win in the 2008 election.&quot;<em>—M.S.</em></p>
<p><strong><em> Weekly Standard</em></strong>, Sept. 17<br /> A frivolous <a href="http://weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/014/081tidkp.asp">cover story</a> on the culture of fun in the workplace is a snappy and snarky takedown of corporate-mandated staff bonding. The article rides the wave of sarcastic entertainment like <em>The Office</em> to provide an inside look at the emerging field of fun consultation—aka &quot;funsultation&quot;. Companies like Delaware's Fun Department are hired to bring humor—not sarcasm—to office parks nationwide, yet are often greeted by groans from employees. The article makes Dunder Mifflin sound like the scene of a reality show rather than a television comedy. <strong>…</strong> A bland <a href="http://weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/014/076rbpzi.asp">feature</a> spends time with John McCain's campaign in New Hampshire and tentatively declares his once-anemic presidential bid to be revived. &quot;It is far too early to start writing the McCain comeback narrative. But it is equally early to be writing his political epitaph.&quot; Besides a funny aside about dumplings, the run-of-the mill piece doesn't offer much new insight into the campaign's inner workings.<em>—C.M.</em></p>Mon, 10 Sep 2007 20:01:00 GMThttp://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/other_magazines/2007/09/whitehouse_wives.htmlGarin HovannisianJuliet LapidosChadwick MatlinJake MelvilleDavid SessionsMorgan Smith2007-09-10T20:01:00ZTime on how presidential candidates' spouses are changing the game.News and PoliticsWhat's new&nbsp;in the Economist, the Atlantic, and more.2173690Garin HovannisianJuliet LapidosChadwick MatlinJake MelvilleDavid SessionsMorgan SmithOther Magazineshttp://www.slate.com/id/2173690falsefalsefalsePower Shothttp://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/other_magazines/2007/09/power_shot.html
<p><strong><em> Economist</em></strong>, Sept. 8 An excessively evenhanded <a href="http://economist.com/opinion/displaystory.cfm?story_id=9767699">cover story</a> cautiously declares the revival of nuclear power. Despite the public's old anti-nuclear sentiment, &quot;[g]eopolitics, technology, economics and the environment are all changing in nuclear power's favor.&quot; But the piece cautions that nuclear power's future is uncertain because its &quot;green virtues do not show up in its costs&quot; and—wait—the public is still wary. And the &quot;nuclear industry needs to persuade people that it is clean, cheap and safe enough to rely on without a government crutch.&quot; So what happened to its revival? <strong>…</strong> The comprehensive <a href="http://economist.com/printedition/">technology quarterly</a> contains 18 articles on various aspects of the tech industry. <strong>…</strong> A pair of pieces, <a href="http://economist.com/world/na/displaystory.cfm?story_id=9767800">one</a> about the stymied progress of cleaning up around Ground Zero and <a href="http://economist.com/world/na/displaystory.cfm?story_id=9767834">one</a> on U.S. homeland security, quietly mark the upcoming anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks.<em>—M.S.</em></p>
<p><strong><em>Time</em>, Sept. 17</strong><br /><em>Time</em>'s <a href="http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1659375-1,00.html">cover story</a> goes FAQ-style to bring readers up to speed on Iraq ahead of Gen. David Petraeus' visit to Congress. The article offers succinct answers to the major questions hovering over Capitol Hill and Iraq (&quot;Did the surge work?&quot;) and implies that the status quo will continue after Petraeus comes and goes. The debate may really be more about U.S. politics than Iraqi security. &quot;It is likely that some of the votes that take place this fall will be as much about the future of Congress as about the future of Iraq.&quot; <strong>…</strong> An <a href="http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1659767,00.html">overly gushy piece</a> on the school reform movement in New Orleans fails to convince that new charter schools are the first step to revitalizing the city. Hurricane Katrina &quot;opened the path for energetic reformers who want to make New Orleans a laboratory of new ideas for urban schools.&quot; Unfortunately, the idealistic article ignores how students' tumultuous lives outside of school will affect their performance in the classroom.—<em>C.M.</em></p>
<p><strong><em> Harper's</em></strong>, September 2007 In a report examining the sunnier side of global warming, a writer accompanies a Canadian naval ship headed to the Arctic on a &quot;sovereignty operation&quot; to stake out claims for resource extraction and development. The stakes are high—Russia has already claimed an area of 460,000 square miles with an estimated 10 billion tons of gas and oil—and could get higher if global warming makes the region, and its many natural resources, more accessible. With many nations jockeying for potentially lucrative territories in the Arctic, the writer examines the potential conflicts that may arise in this &quot;last great imperial partition.&quot; <strong>…</strong> An essay examines criticism of the &quot;failing&quot; American education system and the multiple roles that schools are expected to play in society. The writer concludes that asking schools to solve every social problem of the past 50 years is simply impossible: &quot;Perhaps it is time we thought of schools as places where our children might simply learn something—not just for our benefit, not just for the nation's, but for their own.&quot;— <em>J.M.</em></p>
<p> <strong><em>New York Times Magazine</em>, Sept. 9</strong> An excellent cover story examines Rudy Giuliani's 9/11-heavy &quot;civilization struggle&quot; rhetoric. Giuliani, the author argues, has (con)fused policy with personality so that his solution to any problem is essentially the same: &quot;[T]he American president [has] to be someone the rest of the world fear[s], someone a little too rash and belligerent for anyone else's comfort.&quot; In short, the details don't matter so long as there's a Churchill- or Reagan-like figure at the helm—and that just so happens to be how Giuliani's positioning himself in his presidential bid. <em><strong>…</strong></em> An article profiles a new single-issue lobby group: Americans Against Escalation in Iraq. Unlike the rambunctious anti-Vietnam movement &quot;managed from college campuses and coffee houses,&quot; the AAEI is a &quot;multimillion-dollar operation run by media-savvy professionals.&quot; They use the Internet, not the streets, to influence politicians. Can they end the war? Maybe, maybe not, but the author suggests that suited-up AAEI members have a better chance at success than their tie-dye-wearing forebears.— <em>J.L.</em></p>
<p><strong><em> Mother Jones</em></strong>, September and October 2007 The <a href="http://www.motherjones.com/news/feature/2007/09/school_of_shock.html">cover story</a> is an unsettling piece about the &quot;School of Shock,&quot; otherwise known as the Rotenberg Center, a Massachusetts-based school for kids with severe behavioral problems, including those caused by autism and ADD. Rotenberg uses equally severe tactics such as electrode shocks, white noise helmets, and pinching to keep them in line. Founder Matthew Israel is the mastermind behind one treatment that requires disobedient students to wear a backpack equipped with electrodes attached to their bodies at all hours of the day. When they act up, they receive shocks that increase in intensity. The school bills itself as the last resort for desperate parents whose kids have impossible and often dangerous behavioral problems, and it does summon some support from its client base. But opposition groups have been attempting to shut down its pseudoscientific and tortuous methods for nearly two decades. Amid student deaths and reports of treatment that would make a Dickensian orphan cringe, the question remains: Why haven't they succeeded?<em>—M.S.</em></p>
<p><strong><em> Men's Vogue</em></strong>, September 2007 A glowing <a href="http://www.mensvogue.com/business/politics/feature/articles/2007/09/tony_blair">profile</a> reviews Tony Blair's legacy as a tough interventionist prime minister as he leaves Downing Street: &quot;Having lifted the country in palpable ways, Blair has staked a claim as one of the country's great 20<sup>th</sup>-century leaders.&quot; He made &quot;water flow up a mountain&quot; by establishing peace in Northern Ireland, his standout foreign achievement. Now, as he leaves office to become an envoy to the Middle East, he&nbsp;&quot;appears determined to work furiously.&quot;<strong>…</strong> In a humorous, engaging essay, a fortysomething writer relates his experience playing soccer in the just-for-writers version of the World Cup. After receiving the invitation of his dreams, he ignores his body's stern warnings: &quot;I imagined myself once again in the full flight of my youth on the brilliant green grass of a crowded Swedish stadium, the three lions of England on my chest, hapless Germans and Italians in my wake.&quot; But having athletic aspirations crushed, he discovers, doesn't get any easier with age.— <em>D.S.</em></p>
<p> <strong><em>New Republic</em>, Sept. 10</strong> The comprehensive <a href="http://www.tnr.com/doc.mhtml?i=20070910&amp;s=chait091007&amp;c=1">cover story</a> rails against the Republicans' entrenched economic policy of promoting tax cuts for the rich as a cure-all for any economic problem. Over the last 30 years, the GOP has abandoned its roots and subscribed to the &quot;cult&quot; of supply-side economics and tax cuts, according to the piece. Relying heavily on history and mathematics, it argues that &quot;supply-side economics is not merely an economic program. It's a totalistic ideology.&quot; While tax cuts don't usually make for the most exciting material, the article manages to make its high-minded subject matter engaging to the tax code novice. <strong>…</strong> An <a href="http://www.tnr.com/doc.mhtml?i=20070910&amp;s=crowley091007">insightful look</a> at Alaskan Sen. Ted Stevens examines how he earned so much clout in the Senate in spite of his infamous temper and pork-barrel spending. Federal authorities are investigating whether Stevens inappropriately accepted home renovations, but the piece suggests he doesn't care. He's so vital to Alaska's economy that he feels he is on righteous ground, regardless of how poisonous his actions may be to America's budget.— <em>C.M.</em></p>
<p><strong><em> Newsweek</em></strong><strong>, Sept. 10<br /></strong> The fluffy <a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20546334/site/newsweek/">cover story</a> asks whether Fred Thompson is &quot;made of presidential material.&quot; On the plus side, Thompson has a cinematic, Reagan-esque life story: He knocked up his girlfriend when he was in high school, got married young, put himself through law school, became a senator, got a gig on <em>Law &amp; Order</em>, etc. But the received wisdom in Washington is that Thompson doesn't have the appetite for a long campaign, and he's had some trouble raising money. There's little analysis here, but if you're looking for some basic facts on the presidential wannabe, then this article's a good place to start. <strong>…</strong> A late-to-the-party <a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20547150/site/newsweek/">article</a> breezes through last week's bathroom scandal and provides a mini profile of Sgt. David Karsnia, the officer who arrested Larry Craig. Karsnia &quot;is particularly adept at catching cruisers&quot;—he's made a dozen such arrests since May. He's a &quot;humble, hardworker&quot; who didn't &quot;gloat about capturing Craig.&quot;— <em>J.L.</em></p>
<p><strong><em> Weekly Standard</em></strong>, Sept. 10 The dense but informative <a href="http://weeklystandard.com/Check.asp?idArticle=14043&amp;r=delki">cover story</a> counters the notion that al-Qaida in Iraq is separate from the global al-Qaida network and is somehow less important to the fight against terrorism. Frederick Kagan systematically explores the common ideology that unites AQI with the global al-Qaida: <em>takifirism</em>, &quot;a radical reinterpretation of Islam that discards over a thousand years of Islamic scholarship and cautious tradition.&quot; Iraqis need assistance resisting the <em>takifiris</em> and protection from retaliatory violence, a task that is &quot;dauntingly complex, but not beyond the power of coalition forces to understand and execute.&quot;<strong>… </strong> A <a href="http://weeklystandard.com/Check.asp?idArticle=14045&amp;r=olely">column</a> diagnoses the Republican Party's new default response to scandal: &quot;clean house.&quot; Last week's debacle with Sen. Larry Craig hit just as the GOP was quietly forcing the retirements of scandal-ridden members like Rep. Rick Renzi, and the party was &quot;instantly united&quot; in the effort to remove Craig from office. After the disastrous results of the Mark Foley scandal, Republicans are &quot;desperate not to have another corruption-driven defeat in 2008.&quot;— <em>D.S.</em></p>
<p><strong><em> Texas</em></strong><strong><em> Monthly</em>, September 2007<br /></strong> The cover story fawns over recently deceased former first lady Lady Bird Johnson and attempts to connect her childhood to her White House experiences. Her love of wildflowers as a young girl evidently influenced the Highway Beautification Act of 1965, while the fact that her &quot;regular playmates were two black girls&quot; recalls her support for the Civil Rights Act of 1967. The profile comes fully fluffed, claiming that Lady Bird &quot;represented the best of Texas womanhood,&quot; while also managing to see her as a &quot;bridge between the less visible roles of the forties and fifties to the era of women's liberation.&quot;<strong>…</strong> An article debunks the &quot;perverse logic&quot; of <em>U.S. v. Ramos and Compean</em>—the case of two Border Patrol agents who were convicted and jailed for assault and obstruction of justice, while the drug smuggler they were pursuing was granted immunity and allowed to walk free. The writer traces how through a selective choosing of facts, the case became a &quot;cause-c&eacute;l&egrave;bre&quot; for Lou Dobbs and the anti-amnesty blogosphere.— <em>J.M.</em></p>Tue, 04 Sep 2007 19:32:00 GMThttp://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/other_magazines/2007/09/power_shot.htmlJuliet LapidosChadwick MatlinJake MelvilleDavid SessionsMorgan Smith2007-09-04T19:32:00ZThe Economist says that nuclear energy may be facing a revival. Sort of.News and PoliticsWhat's new&nbsp;in&nbsp;Time, Harper's, and more.2173303Juliet LapidosChadwick MatlinJake MelvilleDavid SessionsMorgan SmithOther Magazineshttp://www.slate.com/id/2173303falsefalsefalseGoogly Eyeshttp://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/other_magazines/2007/08/googly_eyes.html
<p><strong><em> Economist</em></strong>, Sept. 1 The rather dry <a href="http://economist.com/opinion/displaystory.cfm?story_id=9725272">cover story</a> considers the threat Google poses to users and the communications industry worldwide. Google, unlike its competitors Yahoo! and Microsoft, &quot;will be the one to test the limits of what society can tolerate&quot; as it turns into a &quot;custodian of a far wider and more intimate range of information about individuals.&quot; As it continues to grow, Google could turn in two different directions: user-friendly or advertiser-friendly. To protect consumers' privacy, it could &quot;voluntarily destroy&quot; any information it accumulates, sacrificing ad revenue. Alternatively, it could become an advertisers' goldmine, a situation that, the piece frets, could result in &quot;some dreadful intrusions into privacy.&quot;<strong>…</strong> A <a href="http://economist.com/displaystory.cfm?story_id=9719806">briefing</a> that traces America's on-again, off-again relationship with the death penalty declares, despite the &quot;special&quot; state of Texas' seemingly unbounded love for executions—the Lonestar State's executions account for half of the nation's—Americans &quot;are losing their appetite&quot; for capital punishment.— <em>M.S.</em></p>
<p><strong><em> Time</em></strong>, Sept. 10 The comprehensive cover package on national service is overly patriotic, yet remains extremely informative. <a href="http://www.time.com/time/specials/2007/article/0,28804,1657256_1657317,00.html">The main article</a> outlines various national service plans—and who would pay for them. One idea: The government should give a $5,000 national service bond to every new child born in America—funds that would be accessible only if the individual &quot;commits to at least one year of national or military service.&quot;<a href="http://www.time.com/time/specials/2007/article/0,28804,1657256_1657317_1657423,00.html">Subsequent profiles</a> on community activists and social entrepreneurs lend tangible examples to the package's more abstract suggestions. <strong>…</strong> <a href="http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1657825,00.html">A piece</a> on Halo 3, the upcoming video game for Microsoft's Xbox 360, tries to break down video game stereotypes but instead reinforces clich&eacute;s of the lonely, obsessive gamer. The author checks in on the creators of the blockbuster franchise whose next installment is due out in late September and portrays the programmers as hypercaffeinated loners who found their niche in a burgeoning subculture. Unfortunately, the piece doesn't provide enough evidence to prove its spot-on thesis: that gamers' subculture may already have gone mainstream.— <em>C.M.</em></p>
<p><strong><em>Reason</em>, August/September 2007<br /></strong>A <a href="http://reason.com/news/show/120765.html">feature</a> bemoans that &quot;cosmetic changes have taken the place of real reform&quot; in the fight against the Supreme Court's acceptance of imminent domain for private economic development in the controversial <em>Kelo v. New London</em>. State legislation is often for show, having too many exceptions to make serious impact. And that's just&nbsp;the way&nbsp;many lawmakers want it: &quot;Thus, politicians can appease voters angry about Kelo by passing laws to 'reverse' it, while simultaneously avoiding the ire of development interests by not giving those laws teeth.&quot; <strong>…</strong> A report <a href="http://reason.com/news/show/120758.html">analyzes</a> the libertarian leanings of Democratic presidential candidate Bill Richardson. He's selling himself as a &quot;market Democrat&quot; and has a history of opposing taxes and strict drug laws, but real libertarians argue that he's balanced his tax-cutting with general favoritism toward big government. The writer concurs, noting how easily Richardson's market-friendly &quot;veneer can crack when it comes time to raise revenue.&quot;—<em>D.S.</em></p>
<p> <strong><em>New York, </em>Sept. 3</strong> A <a href="http://nymag.com/news/media/36617/">feature</a> tries—but fails—to profile Matt Drudge, whom the piece terms &quot;America's most influential journalist.&quot; But the article is mostly cobbled together from well-known gossip—Drudge is intensely private, and his few friends are discreet. What the writer can't find through gossip, he derives from listening to Drudge's radio show. The feature's central points are that Drudge might be gay and that his political philosophy is &quot;mysterious,&quot; given that he trashed Bill Clinton and John Kerry but seems obsessed with making Hillary Clinton the next president. <strong>…</strong> An <a href="http://nymag.com/news/politics/powergrid/36536/">article</a> assesses Barack Obama's chances of winning the Democratic nomination. On the downside, he's made a few &quot;foreign-policy gaffes,&quot; like saying he'd meet with Hugo Ch&aacute;vez and Fidel Castro. Plus, he doesn't have much political experience. But many voters associate Obama with &quot;change,&quot; and Democrats on average find him more likable than Clinton. All told, he has a fighting chance.— <em>J.L.</em></p>
<p><strong><em> New York Times Magazine</em></strong>, Sept. 2 The cover story follows renegade record producer Rick Rubin from founding Def Jam Records in his college dorm to his new position as the co-head of Columbia Records. Rubin has no training or technical skill—just a &quot;simultaneously mystical and entirely decisive&quot; way of detecting hits, which he hopes to use to revive the struggling Columbia. The famously anti-corporate Rubin says the position is a chance for him to finally teach the profit-worshipping label a lesson about artistic focus: &quot;In the past, I've tried to protect artists from the label, and now my job would also be to protect the label from itself.&quot;<strong>…</strong> The <em>Times</em>' Michael R. Gordon reports on the &quot;former-insurgent counterinsurgency&quot; that American forces have formed during the &quot;surge&quot; in Iraq. A new relationship with a Sunni sheik allowed Americans to turn formerly hostile Sunnis into counterinsurgent fighters. Embedded with the new fighters, Gordon relates the story of their unsuccessful battle for control of Hawr Rajab. The firsthand account reads a bit like a military logbook, but it's close to gripping.— <em>D.S.</em></p>
<p> <strong><em>Weekly Standard</em>, Sept. 3</strong> An <a href="http://weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/014/025vxetc.asp">article</a> proclaims the success of the U.S. military's recent &quot;surge&quot; in Iraq. Al-Qaida hoped to offset any political benefits Bush would receive from the surge by delivering headline-grabbing attacks before Gen. Petraeus' September report. But coalition forces have so effectively cornered insurgents in the &quot;fifth corridor,&quot; north of the Tigris River, that the location of recent attacks revealed how far back the insurgency has been pushed and &quot;told the coalition's planners that they had been effective.&quot; The piece presents some interesting—and possibly encouraging—information, but jumps to the unconvincing conclusion that we're &quot;winning this war.&quot;<strong>… </strong> The sarcastic <a href="http://www.weeklystandard.com/Check.asp?idArticle=14024&amp;r=nesep">cover story</a> attempts to lay the smackdown on left-wing hysteria about the &quot;fascist&quot; Bush administration. Such claims are ludicrous, the piece claims—just look at the feverish liberal dissent in Washington, the press, and even the military. Though it travels a disjointed trajectory rebutting anti-Bush arguments, the piece reaches a solid conclusion: &quot;[T]hose who insist they are fighting for reason&quot; are losing their own.— <em>D.S.</em></p>
<p><strong><em> Newsweek</em></strong>, Sept. 3 The disturbing <a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20430170/site/newsweek/page/0/">cover story</a> examines the hapless hunt for Osama Bin Laden. Ever since the al-Qaida chief escaped from Tora Bora in December 2001, U.S. forces have been relying on guesswork rather than &quot;actionable&quot; intelligence. Wondering why &quot;the world's greatest superpower&quot; can't &quot;find a middle-aged, possibly ill, religious fanatic&quot;? The short answer, predictably enough, is the Iraq war, which drains resources. Plus, American forces in Afghanistan have done a piss-poor job of getting along with locals. And I do mean piss-poor: &quot;[M]ost soldiers in Afghanistan don't know simple phrases like 'stop,' 'go,' or 'put your hands up.' &quot;<em><strong>…</strong></em> A solid slice-of-life <a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20430177/site/newsweek/">Web exclusive</a> reports that bartenders are creating war-on-terror-themed cocktails. Boston's KO Prime steakhouse serves up the &quot;Guantanamo Bay Breeze&quot;: citrus vodka, pureed pineapple, and cranberry juice mix. At the World Bar in Manhattan, you can order an &quot;Osama bin Laden&quot; shot (Pernod and Tabasco). But there's nothing new about violence-inspired cocktails. The kamikaze shot has its roots in World War II, and, of course, there's the Irish car bomb, that St. Patrick's Day staple.— <em>J.L.</em></p>
<p><strong><em> The New Yorker</em></strong>, Sept. 3 and 11 In the annual <a href="http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/toc/2007/09/03/toc_20070827">Food Issue</a>, a <a href="http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2007/09/03/070903fa_fact_keefe">piece</a> unveils the Jay Gatsby of fine wine: fraudster Hardy Rodenstock. Rodenstock, who cultivated rumors he belonged to the wealthy German family of the same name, became famous for discovering numerous troves of rare wines—like the Russian &quot;tsar's lost cache&quot; of 19<sup>th</sup>-century wine—while throwing lavish wine-tasting parties across the globe in which spitting was prohibited (thus ensuring his wine critic guests were well-liquored before he served them the &quot;rarest&quot; of his finds). In the 1980s, Christie's auctioned several Rodenstock-originated 1784 and 1787 vintage French wines purportedly owned by Thomas Jefferson. American collector and tycoon Bill Koch bought four of the <em>Th.J&shy;</em> &shy;- inscribed bottles in 1988, only to find in 2005 when he sought authentication from the Thomas Jefferson Foundation that they doubted the former statesman ever possessed the bottles. The hardnosed Koch girded for a legal battle, and in 2006 filed suit against Hardy Rodenstock (whose real name is Meinhard Goerke and real father is a German railroad official).— <em>M.S.</em></p>
<p><strong><em> Men's Journal</em></strong>, September 2007 A <a href="http://www.mensjournal.com/feature/M162/M162_CasualtiesoftheNFL.html">feature on disabled NFL veterans</a> spends as much time attacking players' union chief Gene Upshaw as it does profiling crippled former athletes. Former football players, whom the article describes as &quot;essentially cows at market,&quot;&shy; suffer from high rates of migraines, dementia, and permanent brain damage that prevent them from finding employment. But they're running into resistance from the players' union when they file for disability payments. Upshaw declined comment, which only helps confirm the piece's cogent thesis that the league and union have something to be ashamed of. <strong>…</strong> <a href="http://www.mensjournal.com/feature/M162/M162_TheCultofChrisMcCandless.html">An article on Chris McCandless</a> —the hiker whose travels and subsequent death in the Alaska wilderness were chronicled in Jon Krakauer's best-selling book <em>Into the Wild</em>—proves to be more than just a promotional piece for the upcoming film. The piece examines how Krakauer's book mythologized McCandless' plight and how the new film directed by Sean Penn is a one-sided portrayal of McCandless as &quot;almost Christ-like.&quot; The photos McCandless took of himself and his surroundings prove to be even more powerful than the article itself.<em>—C.M.</em></p>
<p> <strong><em>Time</em>, Sept. 3</strong> The <a href="http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1655415-1,00.html">cover story</a> examines 66 years of Mother Teresa's correspondence with her confessors and superiors, much of which is only now being made public. As it turns out, the renowned missionary felt &quot;no presence of God whatsoever&quot; for the last decades of her life. It's fascinating to see how atheists and religious figures respond to the news. <em>God Is Not Great</em> author and <strong><em>Slate</em></strong> contributor Christopher Hitchens (who once called the iconic nun &quot;<a href="http://www.slate.com/id/2090083/">a fanatic, a fundamentalist, and a fraud</a>&quot;) suggests Teresa finally &quot;woke up&quot; to the simple truth that God doesn't exist. Yet the Rev. Brian Kolodiejchuk thinks Teresa's &quot;dark period&quot; is further proof of her religious fortitude—her ability to do God's work without Christ's direct attendance. <em><strong>… </strong></em> An <a href="http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1655717,00.html">article</a> examines Philadelphia's innovative anti-graffiti measure. Instead of waging &quot;war on the spray-painting vandals,&quot; the city encourages mural-making. Apparently the initiative helps pacify tough neighborhoods. Unfortunately, the author doesn't trot out any hard evidence to prove his point—he just shares a sappy anecdote about a community coming together to paint &quot;The Peace Wall.&quot;— <em>J.L.</em></p>
<p><strong><em> Washington Monthly</em></strong>, September 2007 A <a href="http://www2.washingtonmonthly.com/features/2007/0709.guideintro.html">special issue</a> presents <em>Washington Monthly</em>'s annual college rankings, which the magazine developed to address the perceived flaws in the influential <em>U.S. News and World Report </em> ranking system. A note from the editors somewhat self-righteously declares that the <em>Washington Monthly</em> rankings are a &quot;guide not just to what colleges can do for you, but what colleges are doing for the country.&quot;<em>Washington Monthly </em> claims its methodology places a heavier emphasis on the social mobility and fostering of civilian or military service than does that of <em>U.S. News</em>. That explains why its results differ wildly from the Ivy-league dominated <em>U.S. News </em> rankings: The highest Ivy school on the list is Cornell, which comes in at&nbsp;seventh place. Harvard, Yale, and Princeton, <em>U.S.</em><em> News</em>'top three, measure in at 27<sup>th</sup>, 38<sup>th</sup>, and 78<sup>th</sup>. The editors also cattily single out Rice University with a &quot;dishonorable mention,&quot; noting the rapid ascent of the &quot;best little university in Texas&quot; to 17 in the <em>U.S. News </em> rankings, but its 103<sup>rd</sup> place in <em>their </em> rankings because of low social mobility and service scores.— <em>M.S.</em></p>Mon, 27 Aug 2007 18:54:00 GMThttp://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/other_magazines/2007/08/googly_eyes.htmlJuliet LapidosChadwick MatlinDavid SessionsMorgan Smith2007-08-27T18:54:00ZThe Economist asks whether Google's future business models will favor consumers or advertisers.News and PoliticsWhat's new&nbsp;in&nbsp;Time, Reason, and more.2172887Juliet LapidosChadwick MatlinDavid SessionsMorgan SmithOther Magazineshttp://www.slate.com/id/2172887falsefalsefalseDoubting Teresahttp://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/other_magazines/2007/08/doubting_teresa.html
<p><strong><em> Time</em></strong>, Sept. 3 The <a href="http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1655415-1,00.html">cover story</a> examines 66 years of Mother Teresa's correspondence with her confessors and superiors, much of which is only now being made public. As it turns out, the renowned missionary felt &quot;no presence of God whatsoever&quot; for the last decades of her life. It's fascinating to see how atheists and religious figures respond to the news. <em>God Is Not Great</em> author and <strong><em>Slate</em></strong> contributor Christopher Hitchens (who once called the iconic nun &quot;<a href="http://www.slate.com/id/2090083/">a fanatic, a fundamentalist, and a fraud</a>&quot;) suggests Teresa finally &quot;woke up&quot; to the simple truth that God doesn't exist. Yet the Rev. Brian Kolodiejchuk thinks Teresa's &quot;dark period&quot; is further proof of her religious fortitude—her ability to do God's work without Christ's direct attendance. <em><strong>… </strong></em> An <a href="http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1655717,00.html">article</a> examines Philadelphia's innovative anti-graffiti measure. Instead of waging &quot;war on the spray-painting vandals,&quot; the city encourages mural-making. Apparently the initiative helps pacify tough neighborhoods. Unfortunately, the author doesn't trot out any hard evidence to prove his point—he just shares a sappy anecdote about a community coming together to paint &quot;The Peace Wall.&quot;— <em>J.L.</em></p>
<p><strong><em> Washington Monthly</em></strong>, September 2007 A <a href="http://www2.washingtonmonthly.com/features/2007/0709.guideintro.html">special issue</a> presents <em>Washington Monthly</em>'s annual college rankings, which the magazine developed to address the perceived flaws in the influential <em>U.S. News and World Report </em> ranking system. A note from the editors somewhat self-righteously declares that the <em>Washington Monthly</em> rankings are a &quot;guide not just to what colleges can do for you, but what colleges are doing for the country.&quot;<em>Washington Monthly </em> claims its methodology places a heavier emphasis on the social mobility and fostering of civilian or military service than does that of <em>U.S. News</em>. That explains why its results differ wildly from the Ivy-league dominated <em>U.S. News </em> rankings: The highest Ivy school on the list is Cornell, which comes in at&nbsp;seventh place. Harvard, Yale, and Princeton, <em>U.S.</em><em> News</em>'top three, measure in at 27<sup>th</sup>, 38<sup>th</sup>, and 78<sup>th</sup>. The editors also cattily single out Rice University with a &quot;dishonorable mention,&quot; noting the rapid ascent of the &quot;best little university in Texas&quot; to 17 in the <em>U.S. News </em> rankings, but its 103<sup>rd</sup> place in <em>their </em> rankings because of low social mobility and service scores.— <em>M.S.</em></p>
<p><strong><em> Economist</em></strong>, Aug. 25 The <a href="http://www.economist.com/opinion/displaystory.cfm?story_id=9687285">cover story</a> gives a fairly comprehensive lowdown on the <em>siloviki</em>—former KGB operatives—who control the Kremlin. &quot;Capitalising on a widespread sense that Russia has been humiliated,&quot; the <em>siloviki</em> want to reassert the state's influence. In some ways, they've been successful: GDP growth averages about 7 percent a year, and the foreign reserves have risen exponentially. Nevertheless, the <em>siloviki</em> are making some serious gaffes that could impede Russia's return to power: They're putting spies without sufficient business experience in charge of big firms and have done nothing to quell secessionism in the north Caucasus. <strong><em>…</em></strong> An <a href="http://www.economist.com/world/asia/displaystory.cfm?story_id=9687970">article</a> describes yet another Chinese health scare—and this time, it's hurting local agriculture. For months, international health officers have been hearing &quot;anecdotal reports&quot; that &quot;massive numbers of pigs&quot; have been infected with porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome. On Aug. 20, China's chief veterinary officer announced that PRRS is under &quot;preliminary control,&quot; but the government has yet to share tissue samples with international organizations. All told, the government's handling of the situation has &quot;been somewhat better than during the 2003 SARS outbreak,&quot; but China has a long way to go before achieving real transparency.— <em>J.L.</em></p>
<p><strong><em> New Republic</em></strong>, Aug. 27 <a href="http://www.tnr.com/doc.mhtml?i=20070827&amp;s=judis082707">The impressive cover story</a> examines the psychological interplay between our fear of death and how we select presidential candidates. The piece uses psychologists' findings on mortality awareness to explain American xenophobia and President Bush's electoral success. But that Republican victory could be fleeting: The article suggests that &quot;scare tactics&quot; invoking 9/11 won't be effective in the upcoming election because 9/11 seems too distant. That means bad news for GOP candidates touting their national security agendas. <strong>…</strong> <a href="http://www.tnr.com/doc.mhtml?i=20070827&amp;s=beinart082707">A lucid article</a> argues that DailyKos founder Markos Moulitsas and other bloggers are a product of a society where &quot;revolutionary rhetoric&quot; is not taken seriously. As a result, the netroots have thrown their support behind mainstream presidential candidates, which may end up backfiring. The piece closes with a thought-provoking hypothetical: What happens if Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton gets elected and doesn't withdraw the troops? How does the blogosphere make an impact if the centrists won't listen and they've alienated more radical politicians?<em>—C.M.</em></p>
<p><strong><em> Portfolio</em></strong>, <strong>September 2007<br /></strong> <a href="http://www.portfolio.com/culture-lifestyle/culture-inc/sports/2007/08/02/Baseball-and-Steinbrenner">A comprehensive piece</a> on the New York Yankees and their owner, George Steinbrenner,&nbsp;reveals the team's succession plans (or lack thereof) should Steinbrenner pass away. Steinbrenner has not declared who will take over when the time comes, and his sons are passively jockeying for position in the race to control the multibillion-dollar franchise. The highlight is a startling encounter with an addled Steinbrenner in his Florida home, where the owner is unable to answer to some basic questions. <strong>…</strong> <a href="http://www.portfolio.com/careers/features/2007/08/13/Saad-Hariri-Profile">A dull profile of Saad Hariri</a>, the son of slain Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, paints the younger as a reluctant public figure whose home is in business, not politics. Saad, who heads the government's Sunni bloc, is in position to follow his father's footsteps and become prime minister, but he's not eager to become the country's leader. The article (which is, oddly enough, included in the Web site's &quot;Career&quot; department) gives just as much ink to Rafik as it does to Saad, which makes it neither timely nor particularly salient.<em>—C.M.</em></p>
<p> <strong><em>New York Times Magazine</em>, Aug. 26</strong> <em><strong>Slate</strong></em> contributor Fred Kaplan analyzes the &quot;growing disconnect&quot; within the Army's hierarchical culture. A gap has always existed, but now younger officers often have more combat experience than their superiors and feel that their concerns are being ignored. The conflict became particularly apparent after a lieutenant colonel wrote an <em>Armed Forces Journal </em> article criticizing generals for failing to &quot;put their foot down&quot; when top military advisers made bad decisions in Iraq. The article sent shockwaves throughout the Army and has begun a discussion about military reform. The question is how long overhauls might take and, Kaplan wonders, &quot;whether the most innovative of those junior officers will still be in the Army by the time the top brass decides reform is necessary.&quot;<strong>…</strong> A short piece examines the controversies surrounding two new publicly funded schools—one Hebrew, one Arabic—that will each emphasize a particular language, culture, and religion. The Supreme Court's confusing establishment doctrine fails to recognize that in many cases, it's difficult to define an institution as strictly religious or secular.— <em>D.S.</em></p>
<p><strong><em> New York</em></strong>, Aug. 27 For the fall fashion issue, <strong><em>Slate</em></strong> contributor Amanda Fortini <a href="http://nymag.com/fashion/07/fall/36089">announces</a> the end of the reign of the &quot;ridiculously unflattering&quot; (and shapeless) tent and baby-doll dresses, which pulled off &quot;the bizarre (and, let's face it, somewhat disturbing) feat of making women appear at once infantile and pregnant.&quot; The fall 2007 runways were populated, instead, with &quot;a return to narrowness,&quot; part of a &quot;sharper, slicker aesthetic.&quot; This year's more modern, feminine look &quot;may be the surest sign that designers have figured out that adult women want to look like adults.&quot;<strong>…</strong> A <a href="http://nymag.com/arts/popmusic/features/36049">profile</a> follows Canadian indie supergroup creator A.C. Newman to his new home in New York, where he's preparing to release the New Pornographers' fourth album, <em>Challengers</em>. Newman appears to be &quot;the guy who seems happy-go-lucky onstage, who founded an acclaimed band, got the girl, moved to his dream city … and still doesn't believe it's all for keeps.&quot; To the delight of New York's indie kids, Newman says he's &quot;excited about joining the local music scene,&quot; where he feels more at home than he ever did in Vancouver.— <em>D.S.</em></p>
<p><strong><em> Radar</em></strong>, September 2007 <a href="http://radaronline.com/from-the-magazine/2007/08/cryptome_john_young_radar_anthony_haden_guest_1.php">A piece</a> profiles 71-year-old John Young, the creator of Cryptome.org who causes intelligence officials to lose sleep. Cryptome has been publishing intelligence secrets since 1994 and now nets 50,000 visitors a day. His home has been visited several times by the FBI, and officials have tried to shut the site down. The most engrossing part of the article: a side plot about Young's <a href="http://cryptome.org/radar-spy.htm">assertion</a> that the two <em>Radar</em> writers who interviewed him were British spies working for MI6. <strong>…</strong> Coinciding with the 10<sup>th</sup> anniversary of Princess Diana's death on Aug. 31, the <a href="http://radaronline.com/from-the-magazine/2007/08/prince_harry_misbehavior_the_royals_1.php">cover story</a> summarizes the far-from-regal lifestyle of Prince Harry. The article flits in and out of nightclubs, the royal palace, and news headlines as it depicts Harry as a populist prince with a love of partying. Compared&nbsp;with his older brother, William, 22-year-old Harry &quot;seems to be permanently teetering on the brink of a public relations catastrophe.&quot; Missing, though, are comments from the prince himself—not to mention a genuine photo shoot.— <em>C.M.</em></p>
<p> <strong><em>The New Yorker</em>, Aug. 27</strong> An <a href="http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2007/08/27/070827fa_fact_gopnik">article</a> examines the shifting dynamic between Europe's next crop of leaders and the United States, focusing on French President (and allegedly pro-American) Nicolas Sarkozy. The new European honchos—Sarkozy, Britain's Gordon Brown, and Germany's Angela Merkel—want to &quot;normalize relations with a great power that is no longer the only power&quot; and are reluctant &quot;to be defined by their response to America—either unduly faithful, as with Blair, or unduly hostile, as Chirac became.&quot; The piece cautiously supposes that Sarkozy's presidency may be &quot; a marker of the beginning of the post-American era.&quot;<strong>…</strong> A <a href="http://www.newyorker.com/talk/comment/2007/08/27/070827taco_talk_lemann">commentary</a> memorializes Karl Rove, the president's &quot;fabulist, boundary violator, autodidact, mean boy, schemer.&quot; But, unfortunately for him, Rove's clutch at unrestrained power for the GOP has &quot;finally landed him on the sidelines, the place he least wanted to be.&quot;— <em>M.S.</em></p>
<p><strong><em> Atlantic</em></strong>, September 2007 In the cover story, Joshua Green outlines how Washington mistook Karl Rove for a political genius: &quot;Everyone should have been focusing less on how Rove's methods were used to win elections and more on why they couldn't deliver once the elections were over.&quot; Rove learned the wrong lessons during Bush's post-9/11 period of invincibility and subsequently &quot;sowed interparty division as an electoral strategy.&quot; His failure is ultimately Bush's failure: granting too much power to imbalanced advisers. <strong>…</strong> Bush speechwriter Matthew Scully outs his former partner Mike Gerson as a preening media manipulator who falsely presented himself as the sole genius behind Bush's finer speeches. Gerson personally took credit for the team's work, gave dishonest interviews, and ducked real speech-drafting sessions to pose for reporters with his &quot;famous&quot; legal pad. He &quot;never understood that a modest round of merited applause is worth far more than a standing ovation undeserved.&quot; (<em><strong>Slate</strong></em>'s Timothy Noah also <a href="http://www.slate.com/id/2172066/">chimed in</a> on the feud.)— <em>D.S.</em></p>Mon, 20 Aug 2007 19:23:00 GMThttp://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/other_magazines/2007/08/doubting_teresa.htmlJuliet LapidosChadwick MatlinDavid SessionsMorgan Smith2007-08-20T19:23:00ZTime on how Mother Teresa lost her faith. Plus, Washington Monthly sticks it to the Ivy League.News and PoliticsWhat's new in the Economist, Portfolio, and more.2172489Juliet LapidosChadwick MatlinDavid SessionsMorgan SmithOther Magazineshttp://www.slate.com/id/2172489falsefalsefalseRove's Glory Dayshttp://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/recycled/2007/08/roves_glory_days.html
<p>This morning, the op-ed page of the <em>Wall Street Journal</em> <a href="http://www.opinionjournal.com/editorial/feature.html?id=110010465">broke the news</a> that Karl Rove, President Bush's longtime adviser and campaign &quot;architect,&quot; is leaving the White House—and politics. <strong><em>Slate</em></strong> has long covered Rove's shifting roles within the Bush administration. In 2006, when Rove was removed from daily White House operations to focus exclusively on political strategizing, John Dickerson observed that the move <a href="http://www.slate.com/id/2140421/">wouldn't help Bush's image.</a> Before the 2006 midterm elections, Jacob Weisberg <a href="http://www.slate.com/id/2151740/">was skeptical</a> that Rove could work his usual campaign wonders &quot;in less propitious circumstances and without a blundering Democratic opponent.&quot; After the Republicans' resounding defeat, Dickerson explained why Republicans <a href="http://www.slate.com/id/2153524/">refused to blame it on Rove</a>. </p>
<p>During the Valerie Plame leak investigation in 2005, Timothy Noah began a <a href="http://www.slate.com/id/2122507/">Karl Rove Death Watch</a>. (At the time it seemed futile—now we see it was just premature.) Weisberg explained that <a href="http://www.slate.com/id/2129292/">Rove was already stumbling</a> before the CIA leak, having directed Bush too far to the right. And in April of this year, John Dickerson <a href="http://www.slate.com/id/2170318/">called Rove and Bush</a> on their changing stories about Rove's role in the Plame affair.</p>
<p>.</p>Mon, 13 Aug 2007 21:59:00 GMThttp://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/recycled/2007/08/roves_glory_days.htmlDavid Sessions2007-08-13T21:59:00ZSlate's take on the master of spin.News and PoliticsSlate on Rove's glory days.2172160David SessionsRecycledhttp://www.slate.com/id/2172160falsefalsefalseBrother, Can You Spare a Billion?http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/other_magazines/2007/08/brother_can_you_spare_a_billion.html
<p><strong><em>Economist</em>, Aug. 18 <br /></strong>The <a href="http://economist.com/opinion/displayStory.cfm?Story_ID=9646451">cover package</a> assesses the state of the global financial system, which shows signs of strain as money markets slow. As banks lend billions of dollars to restore confidence to the markets, it is &quot;clear that this mess is about more than a bit of rash mortgage lending to Americans who were in the habit of falling behind with their monthly payments.&quot; And as the crisis deepens, anyone &quot;who says the worst is definitely over is either a fool or someone with a position to protect.&quot; <strong>… </strong>A <a href="http://economist.com/world/na/displaystory.cfm?story_id=9645810">commentary</a> that deems the Iowa straw poll &quot;a cross between a money-raising wheeze for the Iowa Republican party and a free day at the fair for local conservatives&quot; segues into an analysis of marginal front-runner Mitt Romney's poor standing among social-activist Republicans. He has yet to &quot;[win] over the guys with the 'Jesus is cool' T-shirts&quot; because of his late arrival to the pro-life movement and his discomfort among &quot;ideologues who are in politics for the red meat, not the organizational niceties.&quot;<em>—M.S.</em></p>
<p><strong><em> Time</em></strong>, Aug. 27 The <a href="http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1653653,00.html">cover story</a> argues that kid geniuses are being left behind by the American public school system. &quot;Gifted&quot; children—those with an IQ above 145—often find it just as difficult to relate to their &quot;normal&quot; classmates as special needs children do. But since No Child Left Behind, &quot;lifting everyone up to a minimum level is more important than allowing students to excel to their limit.&quot; The best solution for gifted chilren isn't special schools, but rather &quot;allowing them to skip ahead at their own pace. We shouldn't be so wary of those who can move a lot faster than the rest of us.&quot; … In light of his resignation, a <a href="http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1653426,00.html">piece</a> gives a mixed verdict on Karl Rove and, with the Republican party &quot;in retreat,&quot; questions his status as a political genius. He might not have failed, but he made little progress toward a conservative realignment: &quot;If America remains more or less evenly divided, the presidency that was supposed to produce a watershed change in U.S. politics has … made almost no change at all.&quot;— <em>D.S.</em></p>
<p><strong><em>Esquire, </em>September 2007<br /></strong>A <a href="http://www.esquire.com/print-this/predator0907">feature</a> dishes on Dateline NBC's<em> To Catch a Predator,</em> in which potential sexual predators are lured into a decoy house, interviewed by a reporter, and turned over to police. <em>Esquire</em>'s account of a recent sting—which resulted in a sex-soliciting prosecutor committing suicide when his home was stormed by a SWAT team—casts doubt on the legality of <em>Dateline</em>'s aggressive tactics. NBC claims it maintains strict separation from police investigation, but the writer contends <em>Predator</em> manipulates law-enforcement officers and cuts legal corners. <strong>… </strong>A <a href="http://www.esquire.com/features/seanpenn0907">rambling profile</a> joins Sean Penn during post-production on his new film, <em>Into the Wild</em>. Everything about Penn is intense—his acting, his directing, his politics, his drinking. At 14, he passed out on set from the heat because he kept his costume on to stay in character. Now, he's &quot;edgy&quot; when the projector at his screening isn't quite right. But he's intense because &quot;he's an idealist. He actually believes—in art, in patriotism, in action above words and truth beyond irony. No wonder the poor bastard needs a drink.&quot;—<em>D.S.</em></p>
<p> <strong><em>New York</em>, Aug. 20<br /></strong> Anyone who still associates New York City with <em>Mean Streets</em> and dystopic grit should read this <a href="http://nymag.com/news/features/35815/">cover story</a>, which examines why New Yorkers can expect to live nine months longer than the average American. This unusual longevity is the result of a dramatic drop in homicide rates, infant mortality rates, and drug-related deaths—all byproducts of &quot;the freakish infusion of boom-time wealth.&quot; Plus, the New York-built environment is especially conducive to health: &quot;Every city block doubles as a racewalking track, every subway station, a StairMaster.&quot;<em><strong>…</strong></em> An <a href="http://nymag.com/news/intelligencer/35826/">article</a> offers Gov. Eliot Spitzer some &quot;expert&quot; makeover advice. Paul Labrecque, a hairdresser, says he &quot;could take his ears in a little bit&quot;; democratic strategist Hank Sheinkopf thinks the governor should eat Brooklyn hot dogs &quot;until his stomach gets bloated&quot;; and David Barton, a gym owner, suggests a &quot;rounder butt.&quot; Now <em>that's</em> the kind of guy you can have a beer with, the piece declares.— <em>J.L</em>.</p>
<p><strong><em> New York Times Magazine</em></strong>, Aug. 19 A profile of Horton Foote pays tribute to the playwright's contributions to American literature and his devotion to his small-town Texas roots. Foote has not outlasted his creativity or his productivity—at 91 he manages to be &quot;a great American artist who's still commercially viable in Hollywood, of all places.&quot;&nbsp;The piece captures Foote's innate storytelling ability: &quot;His conversation is like his dialogue. … The words are like music, and he takes deep pleasure in speaking them and hearing them. It's like writing, with company.&quot;<strong>… </strong> An article reports on the tangled case of Joseph Dick, who contends he falsely confessed to the rape and murder of a Norfolk, Va.,&nbsp;woman in 1997. At first blush, Dick appears to be another convict attempting to capitalize on changing political tides: Even his defense lawyer thinks he's guilty. But as the case's history unravels, a bumbling judicial process emerges, and it seems Dick might be telling the truth.— <em>M.S.</em></p>
<p> <strong><em>Newsweek</em>, Aug. 20</strong> The media romance with Facebook continues. A <a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20227872/site/newsweek/page/0/">cover story</a> about the oft-reported-on social-networking site asks: Can founder Mark Zuckerberg maintain the momentum of the networking &quot;utility&quot; as it forays into broader Internet territory? Will hip college kids still join a site that also accepts &quot;graybeards&quot; and &quot;geezers&quot;? And for said elderly users, the writer helpfully clarifies that &quot;poking&quot; is &quot;not a sexual act, but just a little cozier way of saying 'hey, you' online.&quot;<strong>… </strong> An <a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20216976/site/newsweek/page/0/">article</a> follows the debate around a group of accredited Jackson Pollock paintings—whose true origins are a mystery that &quot;has become as tangled as the skeins of color that wind and loop through a classic Pollock.&quot;<strong>…</strong> A <a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20226461/site/newsweek/page/0/">commentary</a> glows over a new Billy Graham biography, a book &quot;full of details so delicious that even if you've read them before you're happy to read them again&quot; that shows the 88-year-old pastor as &quot;a lion in his winter, turning over the events of his extraordinary life sweetly, with pride, puzzlement and remorse.&quot;— <em>M.S. </em></p>
<p><strong><em> Weekly Standard</em></strong>, Aug. 20 An <a href="http://weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/013/977xoyri.asp">editorial</a> attacks Barack Obama's commitment to fighting al-Qaida everywhere in the world except Iraq. Unlike his fellow Democratic presidential hopefuls, Obama has at least made &quot;a fairly serious attempt&quot; to explain his position on Iraq. But his plan is preoccupied with the &quot;purity&quot; of the al-Qaida presence. &quot;Al Qaeda in Central Asia and the subcontinent has, for the senator, a cleaner pedigree, traceable directly to Osama bin Laden. But what in the world do the circumstances of birth have to do with counterterrorism?&quot; The idea of abandoning Iraq on such grounds is not a measured conclusion but a &quot;shallow&quot; political reaction, the writer contends. <strong>… </strong> A <a href="http://weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/013/987ankei.asp">brief report</a> examines Cambridge University Press' destruction of its remaining copies of <em>Alms for Jihad</em>, a book linking Saudi billionaire Sheikh Khalid Bin Mahfouz to terrorism. <em>Alms</em> is the latest in a long string of books that Bin Mahfouz has suppressed &quot;to squelch any unwanted discussion of his record.&quot; Using libel suits in British courts, he has created a chilling effect on American writers attempting to uncover connections between Islamic charities and terrorism.<em>—D.S.</em></p>
<p><strong><em> The New Yorker</em></strong>, Aug. 20 An article <a href="http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2007/08/20/070820fa_fact_boyer">delves into</a> the political history of Republican presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani, hypothesizing that the former mayor's no-nonsense aggression toward New York City's entrenched welfare-state mentality makes him attractive to middle-American conservatives. &quot;New York was a study in failed liberalism,&quot; and conservatives were impressed by Giuliani's solutions. What began as a meandering celebrity campaign seems to have found its voice and, if the polls are any indication, conservative voters are willing to listen. Still, Guiliani faces an uphill battle to convince some on the right to judge him by his &quot;whole record&quot; when the subject of his moderate social views arises. <strong>…</strong> Adam Gopnik <a href="http://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/books/2007/08/20/070820crbo_books_gopnik">reintroduces</a> American sci-fi novelist Philip K. Dick, whose stories inspired films like <em>Minority Report</em>, <em>Blade Runner</em>, and<em> A Scanner Darkly</em>, among others<em>. </em> Dick has &quot;become for our time what Edgar Allan Poe was for Gilded Age America: the doomed genius who supplies a style of horrors and frissons.&quot;<em>—D.S.</em></p>
<p><strong><em> Believer</em></strong>, August 2007 An article addresses the problem of picking out the perfect name for ourselves and fictional characters. The disorganized piece is solipsistic (with mentions of the author's novel-in-progress <em>and </em> his therapist) and sometimes clumsy (babies are &quot;drooling eight-pound blobs of potential&quot;), but some of the thoughts on monikers in fiction are pretty solid. Ultimately, though, the drive-by literary analysis proves too broad to be interesting, and the concluding sentences, which somehow seem to contradict the whole point of the article while further indulging the author's self-consciousness, will leave you feeling annoyed. <strong>…</strong> Another article elegizes the feminist novel of the '60s and '70s, unpacking the archetypes in works by authors such Erica Jong, Marilyn French, and Nora Ephron. Unlike today's pastel-packaged chick lit, the older books inspired women when &quot;[i]t was chronically square for smart women to give a shit about designer labels/wedding planning/personal grooming.&quot; The politicized outrage and revolutionary anticipation of those books are absent from contemporary fare: &quot;Life is expensive, the world is conservative, and we all just want to get buy.&quot;— <em>K.E.</em></p>Mon, 13 Aug 2007 17:16:00 GMThttp://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/other_magazines/2007/08/brother_can_you_spare_a_billion.htmlKatherine EvansJuliet LapidosDavid SessionsMorgan Smith2007-08-13T17:16:00ZThe Economist&nbsp;on lending bailouts and the global economy.News and PoliticsWhat's new in&nbsp;Newsweek, Time, and the&nbsp;Economist.2172161Katherine EvansJuliet LapidosDavid SessionsMorgan SmithOther Magazineshttp://www.slate.com/id/2172161falsefalsefalseRight-Wing Clippedhttp://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/other_magazines/2007/08/rightwing_clipped.html
<p><strong><em>Economist</em>, Aug. 11<br /></strong>The <a href="http://economist.com/opinion/displayStory.cfm?Story_ID=9621579">cover story</a> predicts a turn to the left in the country's political future, unfortunately for the beleaguered American right. President Bush and his &uuml;berstrategist Karl Rove could end up &quot;driving the Western world's most impressive political machine off a cliff.&quot; However, the dissolving power of conservatism can't be blamed wholly on Bush. He hasn't done anything more than given the right &quot;virtually everything it craved.&quot; And, even if America moves left, its politics will still be conservative in a global setting: &quot;Mrs Clinton might be portrayed as a communist on talk radio in Kansas,&quot; but she's still to the right of many &quot;conservative&quot; European leaders. <strong>…</strong> A deeply detailed <a href="http://economist.com/world/na/displaystory.cfm?story_id=9619083">briefing</a> finds American conservatism is &quot;in the dumps.&quot; It concludes with a crushing final blow to the Republican Party: They &quot;have failed the most important test of any political movement—wielding power successfully.&quot;—<em>M.S.</em></p>
<p><strong><em>Time</em>, Aug. 20</strong><br />The <a href="http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1651625,00.html">cover story</a>, an excerpt from Nancy Gibbs and Michael Duffy's forthcoming book <em>The Preacher and the Presidents, Billy Graham in the White House</em>, examines the iconic evangelist's 50-year relationship with American presidents. Graham's guileless friendliness made presidents feel &quot;at ease, not on edge. They could tell that Graham wasn't there to lobby or confront but to listen and comfort.&quot; First families felt that the high-profile minister could empathize with their overly scrutinized lifestyle, and the relationship gave the churchless Graham &quot;the rare chance to be a family pastor.&quot; But Graham's intimacy with some presidents brought out his worst, such as his participation in Jew-bashing sessions with Richard Nixon. Moments like these &quot;raised the legitimate question of what exactly a President would have to do for Graham to stop consoling and begin confronting him on moral grounds.&quot; <strong>…</strong> In a <a href="http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1651237,00.html">companion excerpt</a>, Graham discusses death and technology. His wife died earlier this year after being kept alive &quot;longer than nature might have intended.&quot; Though he's grateful for medicinal technology, he is &quot;convinced that in some cases we aren't so much prolonging life but prolonging death.&quot;—<em>D.S.</em></p>
<p> <strong><em>New York</em>, Aug. 1<br /></strong> The <a href="http://nymag.com/news/features/35538/">cover story</a> looks at the challenges skill-based reality-TV contestants face in their respective fields after they go off-air. The scope of the piece is too myopic to make any significant claims about the genre, focusing almost exclusively on the flamboyant winners and losers of Bravo's <em>Project Runway</em> and <em>Top Chef</em>. Fans of the series will gorge on the real-world travails of Santino Rice and Jay McCarroll, and the sordid behind-the-scenes secrets: Contestants weren't allowed cell phones, iPods, magazines, sex, or even to leave the &quot;set&quot; without a chaperone. But the point of the piece isn't much of a revelation and proves to have as many exceptions as proofs. <strong>…</strong> Another <a href="http://nymag.com/news/features/35539/">story</a> predicts the resurrection of Don Imus—possibly even at the hands of CBS. The piece paints Imus as a wily survivor and a self-appointed cultural heir to the legacy of Lenny Bruce. Les Moonves, the CBS president who axed Imus, comes off as a vaguely disingenuous exec who took advantage of a media frenzy to make a calculated business decision.— <em>A.B.</em></p>
<p><strong><em> New York Times Magazine</em></strong>, Aug. 12 An article looks at shareholders who are using their influence to advocate for changes in the way corporations address everything from climate change to genetically modified organisms. Many of these people are retired and involved in religious action groups—they're more concerned with influencing corporate behavior than simply receiving a solid return on their investments. The question now is whether executives will start paying attention to the ever-growing cadre of socially minded stockholders, or just figure out ways to sweep them under the carpet. <strong>…</strong> An article on the new Clearview typeface examines the future of highway signage and the subtle ways font design affects life. While drivers are accustomed to reading the &quot;ultimately clumsy typeface&quot; Highway Gothic, more than 20 states are changing their road signs over to the more readable Clearview design. The piece is fascinating mostly because it focuses on something many&nbsp;readers take for granted—these font designers work hard to make their designs as seamless and unnoticeable as possible. Says one designer, &quot;[Clearview] will completely change the look of the American highway, but not so much that anyone will notice.&quot;— <em>K.E.</em></p>
<p> <strong><em>The New Yorker</em>, Aug. 13</strong> An article investigates the widespread fraud in the Italian olive-oil industry. The high prices fetched by some premium olive oils encourage scammers who practice low-tech bait-and-switches, where cheap foreign products are marketed as premium Italian extra-virgin oil, and high-tech adulteration sophisticated enough to elude chemical analysis. The tales of payoffs, shady political connections, and tapped phone calls resemble the more infamous sectors of Italian organized crime, but don't expect too many horse heads or exploding cars here. The closest we get to cinematic drama is the writer's uncomfortable and highly entertaining meeting with the charismatic and almost certainly criminal olive-oil baron Leonardo Marseglia. <strong>…</strong> Richard Preston, master of the medical thriller, reports on the rare and devastating genetic disorder Lesch-Nyhan syndrome. Preston's knack for suspense and dialogue works wonders with this horrifyingly true story about people who act out uncontrollable urges to hurt themselves and others. A sufferer &quot;eats foods he can't stand; he vomits on himself; he says yes when he means no.&quot; Fair warning: The shocking descriptions of self-mutilation are on par with Preston's most graphic prose on hemorrhagic fever.— <em>A.B.</em></p>
<p><strong><em> Newsweek</em></strong>, <strong>Aug. 13<br /></strong> The <a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20122975/site/newsweek/">cover story</a> lays out the history of the global warming &quot;denial machine.&quot; In the late 1980s, free-market think tanks and the oil industry argued that &quot;the world is not warming; measurements indicating otherwise are flawed.&quot; Next, the naysayers shifted gears: They said global warming was natural—not the result of man-made pollution. Now they contend that climate change, man-made or otherwise, is harmless. There's no breaking-news here, but if you're wondering how big oil made incontrovertible scientific evidence seem dodgy and uncertain, then this story's a good place to start. <strong>…</strong> An <a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20121790/site/newsweek/">article</a> on Sen. Ted Stevens helps readers understand why Alaskans love that crazy old Republican, who is under investigation for bribery. Sure, he may have some pretty shady ties to the oil company VECO. But in his glory days, the notoriously pork-slinging senator &quot;helped modernize the state, bringing electricity, health care, and even subsidized air travel to the state's rural inhabitants, who revere him.&quot; So, he ripped off the federal government and gave to the frontier—he's a regular Robin Hood.— <em>J.L.</em></p>
<p><strong><em> Believer</em></strong>, August 2007 An article addresses the problem of picking out the perfect name for ourselves and fictional characters. The disorganized piece is solipsistic (with mentions of the author's novel-in-progress <em>and </em> his therapist) and sometimes clumsy (babies are &quot;drooling eight-pound blobs of potential&quot;), but some of the thoughts on monikers in fiction are pretty solid. Ultimately, though, the drive-by literary analysis proves too broad to be interesting, and the concluding sentences, which somehow seem to contradict the whole point of the article while further indulging the author's self-consciousness, will leave you feeling annoyed. <strong>…</strong> Another article elegizes the feminist novel of the '60s and '70s, unpacking the archetypes in works by authors such Erica Jong, Marilyn French, and Nora Ephron. Unlike today's pastel-packaged chick lit, the older books inspired women when &quot;[i]t was chronically square for smart women to give a shit about designer labels/wedding planning/personal grooming.&quot; The politicized outrage and revolutionary anticipation of those books are absent from contemporary fare: &quot;Life is expensive, the world is conservative, and we all just want to get buy.&quot;— <em>K.E.</em></p>
<p><strong><em> Weekly Standard</em></strong><strong>, Aug. 13<br /></strong> Harvard government professor Harvey Mansfield <a href="http://weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/013/954gkvmp.asp">responds</a> to <strong><em>Slate</em></strong>'s Christopher Hitchens, writing that Hitchens' and other recent atheist tracts offer &quot;comfort and scholarly reassurance&quot; to atheists left &quot;lonely&quot; by their beliefs. But atheists' pursuit of an alternative external source of justice has led to even greater and darker tyranny than religion. While religion recognizes both the power of injustice and the power of our desire to right it, atheists are blinded by their own one-sided reaction to injustice.<strong>...</strong> A <a href="http://weeklystandard.com/Check.asp?idArticle=13951&amp;r=kqrer">feature</a> highlights Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee's down-home, humorous way of speaking to voters—reminding them that he's a social conservative, criticizing the presidency of George W. Bush, and asking that they give his hometown of Hope, Ark., another chance to produce a president. Huckabee is cheerfully confident about his prospects, though he only shows up in early polls of likely Republican voters as &quot;none of the above.&quot;<em>—D.S.</em></p>Mon, 06 Aug 2007 19:54:00 GMThttp://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/other_magazines/2007/08/rightwing_clipped.htmlAlex BenensonKatherine EvansJuliet LapidosDavid SessionsMorgan Smith2007-08-06T19:54:00ZThe Economist proclaims the demise of the American conservative movement.News and PoliticsWhat's new in the Economist, Time, New York, and more.2171791Alex BenensonKatherine EvansJuliet LapidosDavid SessionsMorgan SmithOther Magazineshttp://www.slate.com/id/2171791falsefalsefalseThe Boys Are All Righthttp://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/other_magazines/2007/07/the_boys_are_all_right.html
<p><strong><em> Time</em></strong>, Aug. 6 The <a href="http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1647452,00.html">cover story</a> is all about boys—namely, asking if today's young men are living in a &quot;soul-crushing world of anti-boy influences.&quot; While a slew of articles and books have declared that boys are in big trouble (they fill special education classes and jails, lag behind girls in standardized test scores, are more likely to commit suicide), recent data suggest the downtrend of the '80s and '90s has been tapering off. The key to success? Giving boys freedom for &quot;quests, competitions, tribal brotherhoods and self-discovery.&quot;<strong>… </strong> An <a href="http://www.time.com/time/politics/article/0,8599,1647164,00.html">article</a> about the hype surrounding Fred Thompson strikes a familiar refrain: The Republican Party is in dire straits, and Thompson, that &quot;preternaturally avuncular actor and former Senator,&quot; may be just the man to save the day. Thompson's decision to postpone his official bid for the presidency, the piece argues, should work to his advantage. He'll avoid flaming out &agrave; la the McCain campaign, have more time to raise money, and be able to rely on <em>Law and Order </em> reruns for publicity without violating the equal-time provision of the federal campaign law.<em>—K.E.<br /></em></p>
<p><strong><em> Entertainment Weekly</em></strong>, Aug. 3 An aw-shucks feature marvels over how completely &quot;Pottermania&quot; conquered popular culture. The series has been translated into 65 languages; 8.3 million copies of <em>Deathly Hallows </em> sold in the United States in the first 24 hours; and the first five movies have grossed $4.1 billion worldwide. Most astonishing of all, the <em>Potter</em> books made &quot;millions of children and teenagers who have never known a world free of conversation pockmarked by LOLs&quot; turn off their computers. The writer doesn't trot out much new information, but he does convey that Harry Potter isn't just a fad, it's a bona fide social phenomenon. <strong>…</strong> A review of <a href="http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20047960,00.html"><em>The Simpsons Movie</em></a> will make you giddy for the real thing. The long-awaited film combines &quot;family psychology, social commentary, and brainy visual and verbal jokes.&quot; Some highlights: Bart considers &quot;the qualities that make a good father;&quot; Homer exclaims that the Bible &quot;doesn't have any answers;&quot; and President Schwarzenegger declares he &quot;was elected to lead, not read.&quot;— <em>J.L.</em></p>
<p><strong><em> Economist</em></strong>, July 28 The <a href="http://economist.com/opinion/displaystory.cfm?story_id=9545933">cover story</a> advances solutions to the First World's slowing population growth. If you can abide the typical population piece metaphor that compares the human population to &quot;bugs in a Petri dish,&quot; you'll get to the argument that government easing &quot;the business of being a working parent&quot; might increase the number of births in modern economies, which is simple and sensible. <strong>… </strong>A <a href="http://economist.com/world/na/displaystory.cfm?story_id=9546217">report</a> follows how private contracting affects overcrowding and under-funding in American prisons. The verdict is that private jailers can build and run prisons more cheaply than state contractors can and they are &quot;at least as humane.&quot; Except that to handle overcrowding, they move inmates from state to state—moves that can be as far as from Hawaii to Alabama. The report concedes this practice &quot;matches supply with demand&quot; but resists bowing to economic maxim when it concludes that moving prisoners so far away from their families &quot;seems unduly harsh.&quot;—<em>M.S.</em></p>
<p><strong><em> New York Times Magazine</em></strong>, July 29 The cover story looks at the current state of &quot;humanoid&quot; robots and artificial intelligence. The futurist's take: We now have robots that can recognize their own faces and understand human needs and a wide range of emotions. The reality: Some very smart scientists can use powerful computers to trick you into thinking a robot is more complicated than it is. The philosophizing about how AI is causing &quot;our fancy notions about our place in the universe [to get] a little wobbly&quot; seems rather grandiose, and you have to wonder if the excitement isn't just a lot of misplaced human wish projection. <strong>… </strong> An Iraqi teacher who got a job as a &quot;fixer&quot;—&quot;a journalist's interpreter, guide, source finder, and occasional lifesaver&quot;— tells the story of his crash course in journalism. The fruit of his struggles to simultaneously learn English and&nbsp;the rules of reporting, and deal with the destruction of his homeland: a scholarship to Columbia University, where he half-jokingly longs for a &quot;fixer&quot; himself.— <em>A.B.</em></p>
<p> <strong><em>New York</em>, July 30—Aug. 6</strong> A piece <a href="http://nymag.com/news/features/34992/">profiles</a> possible GOP presidential candidate Fred Thompson. Fortunately for Thompson, most potential voters are more familiar with his <em>Law &amp; Order</em> days than his time as a Tennessee senator. The takedown tone is set early, when Thompson's &quot;work ethic and authenticity&quot; (or lack thereof) are cited as &quot;significant liabilities&quot; for his campaign. What follows is a 50-year highlight reel of Thompson indiscretions, gaffes, and disingenuous political postures. The anecdotes range from personally embarrassing (a shotgun wedding at 17) to potentially disastrous (ambiguously supporting Bill Clinton during his impeachment hearings). What are Thompson's positions on today's big issues? It doesn't seem like anyone knows—or even cares. <strong>…</strong> An article <a href="http://nymag.com/news/features/34985/">looks at</a>&quot;William,&quot; a husband and father who has a secret promiscuous homosexual life fueled by Craigslist. For all the talk of personal demons and attempts at psychoanalysis, it's really just a voyeuristic look into a closeted underworld. &quot;William&quot; certainly wasn't helped much; he tells the reporter in an online conversation, &quot;You are not going to convince me that truth always sets you free.&quot;— <em>A.B</em></p>
<p><strong><em> New York Review of Books</em></strong>, Aug. 16 Peter Galbraith <a href="http://www.nybooks.com/articles/20470">announces</a> the collapse of American strategy in Iraq in no uncertain terms: &quot;The Iraq War is lost.&quot; The troop surge, he argues, hasn't met any political objectives, and the Iraqis, fragmented and unable to agree on constitutional revision, have not met any U.S. benchmarks. His solution? Remain in Kurdistan, where &quot;disrupting al-Qaeda, preserving Kurdistan's democracy, and limiting Iran&quot; is still a possibility, and withdraw from everywhere else. The piece is a candid prescription from someone who knows his stuff. <strong>… </strong> In what is supposed to be a <a href="http://www.nybooks.com/articles/20471">review</a> of two books on media, Russell Baker takes the opportunity to&nbsp;assess the state of the American press. Baker argues that the Wall Street takeovers, not editorial woes or new media, are the foremost problem for newspapers—while reporters usually feel a sense of responsibility to their public readership, owners are obliged only to their stockholders. That's not to say that today's media-types (&quot;self-servers, frauds, political double-dippers, gasbags, mountebanks, spoiled reporters and unprincipled swine&quot;) are completely virtuous: &quot;Nobody phones the paper expecting to find a hero anymore.&quot;<em>—K.E.</em></p>
<p> <strong><em>Weekly Standard</em>, July 30</strong> The cover story argues that, unlike the &quot;dark days&quot; of the Vietnam War era, young people are ready, willing, and <a href="http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/013/904pffgs.asp">proud to serve in the military</a>. The author doesn't cite polls or even college newspapers to support this assertion, but he does interview volunteers. A lieutenant colonel in the California National Guard states that the young men under his command have put themselves in harm's way because &quot;they like to be challenged.&quot; And a 2<sup>nd</sup> lieutenant platoon leader says he's &quot;infinitely happy&quot; that he fought in Iraq. <em><strong>…</strong></em> An article argues that Bush and the Republican legislators are an &quot;<a href="http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/013/906hmois.asp?pg=1">unusually effective minority</a>.&quot; The proof: Republicans defeated an amendment asking Bush not to pardon Libby and have won the argument that Congress should wait until General Petraeus' fall &quot;surge&quot; report before mandating a retreat in Iraq. In contrast, only one of the Democrats' &quot;six for '06&quot; bills—the minimum-wage hike—has become law.— <em>J.L.</em></p>
<p><strong><em> The New Yorker</em></strong>, July 30 David Remnick descends from his editorial perch to <a href="http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2007/07/30/070730fa_fact_remnick">report</a> on an ideological dissenter from Israel's Zionists. The piece focuses on Avraham Burg, a leftist Israeli politician-turned-businessman who warns that Zionist hardliners (and their &quot;national chauvinism&quot;) could jeopardize Israel's survival. Although Burg's criticisms of the &quot;Holocaust-obsessed, militaristic, xenophobic&quot; national mindset have enraged plenty, other leaders can agree with his more moderate sentiments that the nation ignores pragmatic deal-making at its own peril. The piece is classically Remnickian—fair, thoughtful reporting that is at once detached and consummately readable. <strong>… </strong> Ian Parker <a href="http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2007/07/30/070730fa_fact_parker">takes a look</a> at bonobos—those crazy primates who French kiss, mate for fun, and don't fight. Parker strikes the right pitch for this piece, blending humor (the bonobo as &quot;equal parts dolphin, Dalai Lama, and Warren Beatty&quot;) and juicy mating details with insight into the nitty-gritty of field observation. Whether bonobos will continue to be seen as &quot;hippie chimps,&quot; though, will be dictated less by field evidence than marketing. As one scientist puts it, &quot;Scientific ideas exist in a marketplace, just as every other product does.&quot;— <em>K.E.</em></p>
<p><strong><em> Newsweek</em></strong>, July 30 The cover story addresses the complexity of being a <a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19876834/site/newsweek/">Muslim in the United States</a>. The American Muslim population is &quot;the most affluent, integrated, politically engaged Muslim community in the world,&quot; but faces tensions from without and within. While many adult Muslims have happily embraced an American identity, the younger generation is more religiously conservative and likely to be influenced by foreign imams who preach extremist doctrines. Muslims benefit from Americans' religious respect, but the &quot;growing sense of isolation&quot; among their youth could be cause for serious concern. <strong>…</strong> A column by Jonathan Darman examines how <a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19886671/site/newsweek/">John Edwards</a> subtly encourages comparisons between himself and Robert F. Kennedy. But RFK came across as unkempt and unscripted, while Edwards is dogged by a common perception that he will &quot;pay any price to maintain a flawless veneer.&quot; RFK's anti-poverty message came in &quot;in the waning hours of American utopia,&quot; and unfortunately for Edwards, times have changed.<em>—D.S.</em></p>Mon, 23 Jul 2007 19:36:00 GMThttp://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/other_magazines/2007/07/the_boys_are_all_right.htmlAlex BenensonKatherine EvansJuliet LapidosDavid SessionsMorgan Smith2007-07-23T19:36:00ZTime on whether boys are really being left behind.News and PoliticsWhat's new in Entertainment Weekly, the Economist, etc.2171004Alex BenensonKatherine EvansJuliet LapidosDavid SessionsMorgan SmithOther Magazineshttp://www.slate.com/id/2171004falsefalsefalseWaiting for Goodellhttp://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/todays_blogs/2007/07/waiting_for_goodell.html
<p>Bloggers discuss the indictment of Falcons quarterback Michael Vick, pick apart a controversial piece in the<em> New Republic</em>, and react to today's Emmy nominations.</p>
<p><em>Waiting for Goodell: </em>The indictment of Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick on federal charges for his alleged involvement in a <a href="http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=2940065">dogfighting operation</a> has brought enormous attention to the issue. Bloggers shudder at the revelations and call for the league to come down hard on Vick.</p>
<p><strong>The Coffee House </strong> <a href="http://freshlyground.wordpress.com/2007/07/19/take-a-bite-out-of-vick/">considers</a> how the NFL—and disciplinarian Commissioner Roger Goodell—will react: &quot;Vick is the most electric talent the NFL has ever seen, but he also has become adept at creating bad publicity. … The NFL has some serious image issues. The Commissioner has put the hammer on 'Pacman' Jones and Chris Henry. Michael Vick, however, is not a cornerback or a number three wide receiver. He is the face of the Atlanta Falcons. … How will Roger Goddell treat Vick? I guarantee this; every NFL player is watching to see if there exists a double-standard in the NFL.&quot; Chris Lynch at <strong>A Large Regular</strong> also <a href="http://large-regular.blogspot.com/2007/07/two-more-michael-vick-issues-to-think.html">wonders</a> what the NFL will do, given that gambling is such an integral part of dogfighting: &quot;I have to ask - isn't a player who would risk staging such felonious gambling activities at his own house the exact type of player organized crime would try to get their hooks into to shave points? Michael Vick has been known as an up and down player. Great one week and inconsistent the next. Maybe there was a consistency to Vick's below expectations performances. These questions have to be asked.&quot;</p>
<p>Angela Winters at<strong> The Moderate Voice </strong> <a href="http://themoderatevoice.com/general/14110/quarterbacks-dogs-racism/">calls</a><strong></strong>on Vick's defenders to stop playing the race card, calling charges of racism against Vick<strong></strong>&quot;a familiar and successful tactic of deflection used in cultural politics and racial issues. Anytime someone is criticizing an act or behavior of someone who happens to be black, especially a black man, you threaten the 'racist' label. This makes them either shut up or veer off the real topic; a topic that needs to be discussed if we are ever to find a solution.&quot;</p>
<p>For a legal perspective, Joel at <strong>Animal Blawg</strong> <a href="http://www.animalblawg.com/wordpress/?p=116">spells out</a> the likelihood of Vick being found guilty, while the marketing gurus at <strong>AdPulp</strong> <a href="http://www.adpulp.com/archives/2007/07/what_to_do_when.php">call</a> the damage control a lose-lose situation for the Falcons:<strong></strong>&quot;Either way, the team's brand takes a hit. If they suspend or release Vick, the fans that go to games just to see him may stop going and revenue falls. Or if he stays, lots of folks may boycott the Falcons in protest.&quot;</p>
<p>Meanwhile, <strong>Neva Davis</strong>, a vegan animal activist, <a href="http://nevavegan.blogspot.com/2007/07/michael-vick-and-52-abused-dogs.html">finds a parallel</a> between Britney Spears, castigated for buying a puppy from a pet store this week, and Vick. &quot;The pop star who fears she might not really be so cute anymore re-affirms her cuteness with a designer dog. The sports star asserts his aggressive, dangerous, alpha male image by forcing dogs to fight to the death for his amusement, and killing with his own hands those dogs he felt were weak or passive. … [I]t's … time we stopped selling dogs as things and then acting surprised when people treat them as things.&quot; </p>
<p> <a href="http://blogsearch.google.com/blogsearch?hl=en&amp;ie=UTF-8&amp;q=michael+vick+dogfighting+indictment&amp;btnG=Search+Blogs">Read more</a> about Michael Vick and dogfighting. </p>
<p><em>Shock and bull? </em>Conservative bloggers are highly suspicious about a <em>New</em><em> Republic</em> <a href="http://www.tnr.com/user/nregi.mhtml?i=20070723&amp;s=diarist072307&amp;pt=qrY%2FUBaJQLZPTJ5BNsSGom%3D%3D">article</a> written by a pseudonymous soldier in Iraq that describes shocking acts of barbarism by American troops, including mocking a woman who'd survived an IED attack and a soldier who wore a skull fragment plucked from a mass grave. </p>
<p>After contacting <em>TNR </em>for further details, Michael Goldfarb at the conservative<em> Weekly Standard's</em><strong>Worldwide Standard</strong> <a href="http://www.weeklystandard.com/weblogs/TWSFP/2007/07/fact_or_fiction_1.asp">issued a call</a> for bloggers to start digging into the facts: &quot;[W]e'd encourage the milblogging community to do some digging of their own, and individual soldiers and veterans to come forward with relevant information—either about the specific events or their plausibility in general.&quot; Among the <a href="http://www.weeklystandard.com/weblogs/TWSFP/2007/07/shock_troops_update.asp">many</a> <a href="http://www.weeklystandard.com/Weblogs/TWSFP/TWSFPView.asp">e-mails</a> Goldfarb received was this from a lieutenant colonel in the National Guard: &quot;The skull skull-cap? From a little kid? Walking around with it on for a day? Nonsense - sounds like that scene in 'Jarhead' with the corpses. And apparently there were no officers or NCOs around for over 24 hours. Right. Most of my junior enlisted boys would have slapped him silly.&quot;</p>
<p>The passionately conservative <strong>Ace of Spades </strong> <a href="http://ace.mu.nu/archives/234081.php">has no trouble</a> believing the story's a fake: &quot;<em>The New Republic</em> has had a long and troubled past with too-ideologically-good-to-be-true, too-difficult-to-verify but too-juicy-not-to-run stories in the past. Now an anonymous 'soldier' is reporting for them (illegally, one presumes) from Iraq, and is telling implausible stories that just so happen to portray his 'fellow soldiers' as vicious monsters.&quot;</p>
<p>Rob at <strong>Say Anything</strong> <a href="http://sayanythingblog.com/entry/shock_troops">observes</a> that, even if completely&nbsp;true, the story has little purpose: &quot;Even if this conversation is a real one that actually took place, it only reflects on those involved in it. Not our troops as a whole.&nbsp; Though all of our troops will have to cope with the impression it creates of them, which is the really pathetic part.&quot; And some bloggers complain about just plain bad writing. W. Thomas Smith Jr. at <em>National Review</em>'s<em></em><strong>The Tank</strong> <a href="http://tank.nationalreview.com/post/?q=MjcyZDI3N2I0ZDA5NWIwNGQ2MjM0OWQ0MTgzZDFlNTQ=">called it</a> &quot;sophomoric drivel being passed off as real journalism,&quot; and Dean Barnett, blogging at <strong>Hugh Hewitt</strong>'s site, <a href="http://hughhewitt.townhall.com/g/70b88c68-87d1-4a7b-8652-8400a26c2d80">wrote</a> that the anecdotal story was concocted &quot;in the finest tradition of anti-war agitprop.</p>
<p> <a href="http://blogsearch.google.com/blogsearch?hl=en&amp;q=new+republic+shock+troops&amp;btnG=Search+Blogs">Read more</a> reaction to <em>TNR</em>'s &quot;Shock Troops.&quot;</p>
<p><em>Don't stop nominating:</em> Emmy nominations were <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/19/AR2007071900152.html?hpid=topnews">announced</a> Thursday, with <em>The Sopranos</em> and <em>American Idol</em> landing among the top contenders. The HBO miniseries <em>Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee</em> led with 17 nominations. Bloggers comment on the selections.</p>
<p>L.A gossip rag <strong>Defamer</strong> reiterated its <a href="http://defamer.com/hollywood/second_tier-awards-shows/the-emmy-nominations-lets-just-hand-over-the-statues-to-the-sopranos-and-call-it-a-day-280251.php">opinion of the Emmys</a> in one whopping sentence: &quot;We have, on more than one occasion, referred to the Emmys as 'Oscar's paste-eating cousin,' but even Hollywood's touched-in-the-head awards-proferring youngster gets his turn in the spotlight once in a while, and early this morning a legion of entertainment reporters were invited over to look at the names of the nominees he has sloppily finger-painted on some handy poster board, tousling the well-meaning tyke's hair as he noisily smacked away on a fresh mouthful of his beloved, adhesive snack.&quot; Dan at <strong>Tifaux</strong> <a href="http://www.tifaux.com/2007/07/19/emmy-nominations-my-two-cents/">counts his blessings</a>: &quot;<em>Everybody Loves Raymond </em>isn't on television anymore, so it can't win anything. Hooray!&quot;</p>
<p>Read <a href="http://blogsearch.google.com/blogsearch?hl=en&amp;ie=UTF-8&amp;q=emmy+nominations&amp;btnG=Search+Blogs">more</a> about the Emmy nominations.</p>Thu, 19 Jul 2007 22:56:00 GMThttp://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/todays_blogs/2007/07/waiting_for_goodell.htmlDavid Sessions2007-07-19T22:56:00ZNews and PoliticsBloggers await the NFL's reaction to Michael Vick's indictment.2170809David SessionsToday's Blogshttp://www.slate.com/id/2170809falsefalsefalseBurqini Babeshttp://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/other_magazines/2007/07/burqini_babes.html
<p><strong><em> Time</em></strong>, July 30 The no-nonsense cover story on <a href="http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1644877-1,00.html">what the U.S. should do next in Iraq</a> argues that &quot;in a world of bad options, a phased withdrawal is the least bad one out there.&quot; It's unreasonable to stay indefinitely, since support for the war is extremely low, but Shiite militias will take over Baghdad if we leave immediately. If, however, just half of the 160,000 troops currently stationed in Iraq retreat by the middle of next year, we'll have enough combat power to &quot;deter outside actors&quot; from worsening the situation. Plus, we'll get the chance to rebuild our reputation overseas. <strong>…</strong> An article assesses the latest beachwear fad: <a href="http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1645145,00.html">the modesty-minded burqa swimsuit</a> or &quot;burqini.&quot; Some conservative Muslims think the neck-to-ankle outfit still shows too many curves, and feminists argue that &quot;burqas in any form are offensive to women.&quot; But liberal-minded Muslim women, conservative Christians, senior citizens, and cancer patients absolutely love them.— <em>J.L.</em></p>
<p><strong><em> Economist</em></strong>, July 21 An <a href="http://economist.com/world/la/displaystory.cfm?story_id=9516526">opinion piece</a> reviews unlikely Mexican political heavy-hitter Elba Esther Gordillo. Known popularly as &quot;La Maestra,&quot; she leads the National Educational Workers' Union, the largest labor union in Latin America. But the article argues that her &quot;stranglehold&quot; over the country's schools is not a good thing. Mexico's educational system languishes while Gordillo maintains control through an &quot;unwritten—and maybe even implicit—agreement&quot; with President Felipe Calder&oacute;n. This tacit partnership is damaging Mexico's economic future. But should the president attempt to challenge La Maestra's power, he will face perhaps the &quot;most difficult political confrontation of his presidency.&quot;<strong>…</strong> A <a href="http://economist.com/world/na/displaystory.cfm?story_id=9516059">commentary</a> follows the &quot;swift-trucking&quot; of would-be Republican nominee Rudy Giuliani. The International Association of Fire Fighters recently released a 13-minute video detailing Giuliani's shortcomings, including supplying firemen with radios that malfunctioned during 9/11—allegedly causing many to miss evacuation orders broadcast before the second tower fell.— <em>M.S.</em></p>
<p> <strong><em>New York Times Magazine</em>, July 22</strong> The cover story argues laws requiring many sex offenders to register publicly do more harm than good when applied to &quot;adolescent&quot; offenders, who are sometimes as young as 10. One therapist blames our overzealous and underresearched crusade against pedophilia for the problem: &quot;We were desperately trying to bring attention to the issue … and we went way overboard.&quot;<strong>…</strong> An article profiles Texas Sen. Ron Paul, the no-shot presidential candidate. Paul's most distinguishing feature is his &quot;habit of objecting to things no one else objects to,&quot; like in 1999, when &quot;he was the only naysayer in a 424-1 vote in favor of casting a medal to honor Rosa Parks.&quot; His campaign has become a &quot;clearing-house for the voters who feel unrepresented by mainstream Republicans and Democrats,&quot; or as one campaign coordinator put it, &quot;every wacko fringe group in the country&quot;—everyone from neo-Nazis to those who believe the owners of the Federal Reserve &quot;do mock human sacrifices to an owl-god called Moloch.&quot; Paul comes off as a vaguely backward but mostly inscrutable curmudgeon who seems utterly unable (and perhaps unwilling) to distance himself from his motley constituency.— <em>A.B.</em></p>
<p><strong><em> New York</em></strong><strong><em>, </em>July 23<br /></strong> A <a href="http://nymag.com/news/features/34730/">cover story</a> profiles New York Gov. Eliot &quot;I'm a fucking steamroller&quot; Spitzer. Although its characterization of Spitzer as the condescending, belligerent idealist is sometimes too convenient, the piece is an absorbing retrospective on Eliot's personal history (brilliant, demanding father; long political arguments at the dinner table) and political psychology. The gamesmanship of state lawmaking is on full display here, and the piece plays out Eliot's battle with State Senate Majority Leader Joe Bruno as a back-and-forth, complete with name-calling and point-tallying. <strong>…</strong> An <a href="http://nymag.com/news/politics/powergrid/34733/">opinion piece</a> looks at the recent John McCain campaign meltdown, arguing that, while Republicans may be happy now, &quot;McCain's marginalization leaves them all … short of ideas and gravitas, let alone convictions.&quot; McCain's only hope now is a kind of eked-out resuscitation as &quot;the Republican John Edwards,&quot; which, as the piece rightly points out, is a shame: For all McCain's shortcomings, &quot;no one can dispute that he's a serious man, with serious ideas, who would have seriously changed the GOP.&quot;— <em>K.E.</em></p>
<p> <strong><em>New Republic</em>, July 23</strong> The cover story reveals Fred Thompson's curious effect on &quot;giggling soccer moms in too-tight cocktail frocks.&quot; Infected with &quot;Fred Fever,&quot; the GOP is rolling to have its belly scratched by the candidate that &quot;exudes old school masculinity.&quot; The piece questions, however, how much of the <em>Law &amp; Order</em> actor's much-touted no-nonsense brand of leadership is substance or—wait for it—an act. But the commentary really picks up speed when it singles out the <em>Weekly Standard</em>'s Stephen Hayes and NBC's Chris Matthews as guilty of &quot;getting high on the smell of [Thompson's] testosterone.&quot;<strong>...</strong> An article reviews the bizarre and politically costly mishaps of the &quot;Brothers Rodham&quot; and wonders at older sister Hillary's reluctance to pipe up in public against them. Look forward to one Tony and Hugh get-rich-quick scheme that involves hazelnuts, $118 million, a Mafioso, and a former Soviet republic.<em>—M.S.</em></p>
<p><em><strong> Newsweek</strong></em><strong>, July 23<br /></strong> An <a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19762057/site/newsweek/">article</a> neatly recaps the current stalemate over troop withdrawal from Iraq. More Republican politicians are coming to terms with the &quot;no-win&quot; reality in Iraq—now, &quot;[t]he question is not whether America can win, but rather how to get out.&quot; The complications caused by a shaky Iraqi administration, ongoing civil violence, and the logistics of changing military strategy make getting out seem &quot;just as horrendous as staying in.&quot;<strong>...</strong> The <a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19751440/site/newsweek/">cover story</a> about the new ways to revive cardiac arrest patients is informative enough, but the most engaging feature is the online photo gallery, where readers can click through afterlife drawings from other people's near death experiences. <strong>…</strong> An <a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19734725/site/newsweek/">opinion piece</a> calls ESPN the <em>US Weekly </em> of sports networks—&quot;the network seems hellbent on sanctifying athletes, rather than merely covering them, because it's good business for both.&quot; Citing the new &quot;Who's Now&quot; segment of <em>SportsCenter</em>, the piece accuses the network of trading solid reporting for &quot;athlete-centric idol worship.&quot; But most sports fans are probably just fine with ESPN keeping its coverage &quot;athlete-centric.&quot;— <em>K.E.</em></p>
<p><em><strong> The New Yorker</strong></em><strong>, July 23<br /></strong> A mammoth profile tells the story of real-estate and publishing world mogul Mort Zuckerman. It's difficult to imagine an audience for this corporate narrative on how Zuckerman accumulated his fortune. He possesses neither the shamefully entertaining tastelessness of a Trump nor the brio of a Branson. The best passage is a history of his romantic past (featuring Nora Ephron, Arianna Huffington, and Gloria Steinem), which gives a taste of how the billionaire conducts himself on a date. Hint: He likes talking about himself. <strong>… </strong> Oliver Sacks investigates the story of a man who became obsessed with piano music after being struck by lightning. It's the predictable yet endlessly entertaining Sacks formula: First, he lays down the story with a heavy dose of the victim's own lay explanations (&quot;It began to dawn on him that perhaps he had been 'saved' for a special purpose&quot;), and then he brings out the big science guns (sensory limbic hyperconnection, huh?), only to pull back at the last moment: &quot;[T]he music, however it had come, was a blessing, a grace—not to be questioned.&quot;— <em>A.B.</em></p>
<p><strong><em> Weekly Standard</em></strong>, July 23 Stephen F. Hayes'<a href="http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/013/864tewrq.asp">cover story</a> on Dick Cheney—an excerpt from his upcoming biography of the vice president—attempts to humanize Cheney by presenting snapshots of actions during key moments of the Bush administration. Cheney laughingly recalls waiting with Al Gore for Bill Clinton to finish his presidential pardons on the last day of his administration. He revisits his authorization for military fighters to shoot down passenger planes on 9/11 and remembers other tough calls made regarding the Iraq war. Cheney faces his record squarely and always concludes that &quot;it was the right call.&quot; But ultimately, the piece presents no new information.<strong> …</strong> Fred Barnes <a href="http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/013/880qiigw.asp">explains</a> why President Bush is &quot;the most steadfast guy at the White House, and the least willing to sugarcoat the case for the war.&quot; Bush has repeatedly ditched the carefully worded segments prepared by his aides for Iraq speeches because he's &quot;focusing on the high stakes and the perils of defeat&quot; rather than surrendering ground.— <em>D.S.</em></p>Mon, 16 Jul 2007 20:02:00 GMThttp://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/other_magazines/2007/07/burqini_babes.htmlAlex BenensonKatherine EvansJuliet LapidosDavid SessionsMorgan Smith2007-07-16T20:02:00ZTime on the swimsuit for women who don't want to show any skin at all.News and PoliticsWhat's new in the Economist, etc.2170523Alex BenensonKatherine EvansJuliet LapidosDavid SessionsMorgan SmithOther Magazineshttp://www.slate.com/id/2170523falsefalsefalseMixed Baghdadhttp://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/todays_blogs/2007/07/mixed_baghdad.html
<p>Bloggers measure the White House's assessment of Iraq, mock the failure of Sara Taylor's memory during her Senate testimony, and remember the life of Lady Bird Johnson.</p>
<p><em>Mixed Baghdad</em>:<strong></strong>The White House released <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/12/AR2007071200736.html?hpid=topnews">a long-awaited assessment</a> of Iraq's progress toward 18 political and military benchmarks. The report noted progress in only eight of the 18 areas, but President Bush insisted during a press conference that this is enough for Congress to approve additional funding. Bloggers find the report forthright if unimpressive and doubt it will help Bush's fight against &quot;war fatigue.&quot;</p>
<p>At<strong></strong><em>Time</em> magazine's<strong> Swampland, </strong>left-leaning columnist Joe Klein <a href="http://time-blog.com/swampland/2007/07/benchmarks_1.html">is reluctant to accept</a> what Bush is selling: &quot;So far as I can tell, it's a pretty straightforward assessment of where [Gen.] Petraeus and [Iraq Ambassador Ryan] Crocker see the situation right now—obviously a best case view, but without the lies and oversimplification that mark the President's descriptions of the situation in Iraq. The military situation is represented accurately—at least, it's an accurate representation of the prevailing view on Petraeus' staff. … All in all, this is Bush business as usual, which is unacceptable.&quot;</p>
<p>At <strong>Outside the Beltway</strong>, libertarian James Joyner <a href="http://www.outsidethebeltway.com/archives/2007/07/initial_iraq_benchmark_assessment_report_-_security/">concludes</a> that, despite its so-so verdict, the report shows no indication that the situation might improve: &quot;When this was announced, President Bush warned that we would not see immediate results. At the same time, the Iraqi government is, by the White House's own admission, making essentially no progress on any of the meaningful milestones. It has long been an article of faith among both supporters and critics of the war that it would not be won militarily but politically. There's not much sign that either are happening.&quot;</p>
<p>On the other hand, rightwing military blog <strong>Wake Up America</strong> <a href="http://wwwwakeupamericans-spree.blogspot.com/2007/07/initial-benchmark-assessment-report.html">praises</a> U.S. generals for their moderate successes and notes the necessity of continued, steady involvement from Iraqi politicians: &quot;I am not blaming the Iraqi politicians, lets be clear on this, it took America far longer during and after the American Civil War, to come to any political settlements, but with the atmosphere in Washington being what it is, we are going to have to see the Iraqi politicians do a better job that we here at home can or did.&quot;</p>
<p>Any positive developments listed in the report, didn't stop liberal bloggers from continuing the cry for an immediate end to the war. Amanda at <strong>ThinkProgress</strong> <a href="http://thinkprogress.org/2007/07/12/bush-iraq-psychology/">responded</a> to Bush's complaint at today's press conference that Americans are short-sighted: &quot; 'War fatigue' is not the problem in Iraq. On every metric, the administration's efforts in Iraq are failing. … Americans don't need psychological counseling; they need an end to the war.&quot; At the opposite end of the spectrum, the Directors at<strong> Red State </strong>issued <a href="http://www.redstate.com/stories/war/failure_is_not_an_option">a lengthy defense</a> of the war, arguing that withdrawal is not an option:<strong></strong>&quot;The war in Iraq is vital to America's national security and to the Global War on Terror. It is a fight which we are not currently losing on the ground, and which we will not lose if we commit to victory, rather than taking the path that appears easier, at least in the short term—abandoning yet another battlefield to the enemy.&quot;</p>
<p> <a href="http://blogsearch.google.com/blogsearch?hl=en&amp;q=iraq+progress+report">Read more</a> reaction to the Iraq progress report.</p>
<p><em>I don't recall</em>: Former White House director Sara Taylor testified before the Senate judiciary committee yesterday in the U.S. attorney firings probe. Taylor shifted between defending the Bush administration and refusing to answer questions, claiming executive privilege via a handy letter from White House counsel Fred Fielding. (<strong><em>Slate</em></strong>'s Dahlia Lithwick analyzed the bizarre hearing <a href="http://www.slate.com/id/2170268/">here</a>.) Bloggers mock Taylor's dubious legal approach and forgetfulness.</p>
<p>Conservative author and blogger <strong>Hugh Hewitt </strong> <a href="http://hughhewitt.townhall.com/g/5feb92f2-dd0b-400b-969e-c8510d68167f">praises</a> Taylor's handling of her Democratic questioners: &quot;Her steady performance brought more gloom to the Dems who&nbsp;believed their fixation on the firing of the U.S. Attorneys was certain to generate fireworks and big headlines. … The attempt to turn the dismissal of political appointees who serve at the pleasure of the president into Watergate 2.0 reminds us of Marx's comment on Hegel's view of history repeating itself: '[Hegel] has forgotten to add: the first time as tragedy, the second as farce.'&nbsp;Chairman Farce, er, Leahy, should avoid witnesses that leave him looking like <a href="http://www.comicsreporter.com/images/uploads/blutoCol.jpg">Bluto on a bad day</a>.&quot; Ari Berman at <em>The Nation</em>'s <strong>The Notion</strong> <a href="http://www.thenation.com/blogs/notion?bid=15&amp;pid=213058">glumly concurred</a> that Taylor at least handled the situation well: &quot;Taylor, who worked with Rove on a daily basis for four years, did an expert job of cherrypicking.&quot;</p>
<p>Elsewhere, there was little sympathy or respect for Taylor to be found. At the left-wing <strong>Daily Kos</strong>,<strong></strong>Cal in Cali <a href="http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2007/7/12/24310/3309">compared</a> Taylor to Monica Goodling: &quot;We already knew that these people's only allegiance is to Bush and they have no conception of the Constitution or any authority other than allegiance to their Great Leader.&quot; Shadi Hamid of<strong> Democracy Arsenal </strong> <a href="http://www.democracyarsenal.org/2007/07/bush-vs-the-con.html">echoed</a> the observation, writing that Taylor &quot;does not know the difference between taking an oath to the president and taking an oath to the Constitution. … Is there still any doubt that President Bush and VP Cheney have no respect for the integrity of the democratic process, and seem to have only grudging respect for the U.S. Constitution?&quot;</p>
<p>The lefty <strong>Carpetbagger Report</strong> <a href="http://www.thecarpetbaggerreport.com/archives/11417.html">tallied Taylor's evasions</a>: &quot;She ended up repeatedly telling the senators that she couldn't remember, couldn't explain, or couldn't talk about anything of interest. She <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/11/AR2007071102115.html">invoked</a> Fred Fielding's name 24 times, and mentioned his letter about privilege 35 times.&quot; Joe Gandelman at <strong>The Moderate Voice</strong>,<strong></strong> <a href="http://themoderatevoice.com/society/law-legal-matters/13993/former-white-house-political-director-sara-taylor-cant-recall/">wondered</a> how the Bush administration finds staffers with such awful memories: &quot;If she and Gonzales can't recall, then voters and Congress need to find out how an administration could possibly hire so many people with hideous memories. If they really can't recall, then it's a damning indictment of the quality of people in the administration. And if they really can't recall, how can they be entrusted to bring together the strands of past policies, present challenges, and choices for future action? Shouldn't they be let go because they can't remember anything?&quot;<br /><br /> <a href="http://blogsearch.google.com/blogsearch?hl=en&amp;ie=UTF-8&amp;q=sara+taylor+testimony&amp;btnG=Search+Blogs">Read more</a> about Sara Taylor's testimony.<br /><br /><em>Remembering Lady Bird</em>: Lady Bird Johnson, the widow of former President Lyndon B. Johnson, <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/12/washington/12johnson.html?hp">died at age 94</a> at her home in Austin, Texas. Bloggers remember the former first lady as a gentle beacon of stability and consistency, a model of social grace, and a passionate crusader for the environment.<br /><br /><strong>DavidMixner.com</strong> <a href="http://www.davidmixner.com/2007/07/in-memoriam-lad.html">recalls</a> Mrs. Johnson's&nbsp;unifying qualities: &quot;The First Lady became the symbol of grace and dignity in a time when both were lacking. She never wavered from supporting the President but never missed an opportunity to bring the American people together.&quot;<br /><br />Meanwhile, <strong>Echidne of the Snakes </strong> <a href="http://echidneofthesnakes.blogspot.com/2007_07_01_archive.html">looks at</a> Lady Bird's legacy as it affects the future of women in politics: &quot;[N]ote that the 'reflected glory' that is the reward of the traditional political wife is not something that carries over very well when we do a gender reversal. If Lady Bird Johnson had been the husband of a female president her achievements would look a lot less impressive. This is something that needs to be addressed if we want to see more women in politics.&quot;</p>
<p> <a href="http://blogsearch.google.com/blogsearch?hl=en&amp;q=lady+bird+johnson&amp;btnG=Search+Blogs">Read more</a> about Lady Bird Johnson.</p>Thu, 12 Jul 2007 22:15:00 GMThttp://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/todays_blogs/2007/07/mixed_baghdad.htmlDavid Sessions2007-07-12T22:15:00ZBloggers on the White House's Iraq progress report.News and PoliticsBloggers on the White House's Iraq progress report.2170360David SessionsToday's Blogshttp://www.slate.com/id/2170360falsefalsefalseFlock of Liberalshttp://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/other_magazines/2007/07/flock_of_liberals.html
<p><strong><em> Time</em></strong>, July 23 The <a href="http://www.time.com/time/politics/article/0,8599,1642649,00.html">cover story</a> examines how the Democratic presidential candidates are embracing religion. Having learned the painful lessons of Kerry's 2004 loss, this time it's more than rhetoric: Democrats are attempting to open a dialogue with the religious community and &quot;rediscover a voice they lost a generation ago.&quot; Disillusioned with Bush, &quot;many religious conservatives see a landscape in which their preferred candidate can't win,&quot; and are more open to hearing from Democrats. <strong>…</strong> A piece <a href="http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1642898,00.html">investigates</a> Bureau 39, the &quot;headquarters of a worldwide criminal enterprise&quot; that makes the government of North Korea $1 billion every year. The United States has attempted to thwart the criminal activity and recently returned $25 million in frozen Mafia assets as a bargaining chip for nuclear-weapons inspections. Even if Kim Jong-il agrees to disarm, &quot;there's little reason to believe that the regime will abandon its nefarious business dealings,&quot; which intelligence officials worry will easily facilitate future WMD deals.— <em>D.S.</em></p>
<p><em><strong> Economist</strong></em><strong>, July 14<br /></strong> A <a href="http://economist.com/opinion/displaystory.cfm?story_id=9475769">commentary</a> discredits Pakistani president Gen. Pervez Musharraf's attempts to paint himself as &quot;America's indispensable ally&quot; in the war on terrorism.&nbsp;The Pakistani military's showdown with Muslim extremists at the Red Mosque did not impress the <em>Economist</em>—it came too propitiously for the general. Having thus enlivened the perception of the Islamist militant threat, and the necessity of his place in the battle against it, Musharraf can hope to maintain his power in the upcoming election. <strong>…</strong> A <a href="http://economist.com/displaystory.cfm?story_id=9476028">report</a> not-too-gleefully predicts that John McCain's campaign is on its last legs.&nbsp;The resignations of his top two aides and the tentative withdrawal of another make it hard for the GOP hopeful to &quot;look like a straight-shooter.&quot;&nbsp;And, his constant trumpeting of fiscal responsibility suffers next to news that his campaign managers &quot;spend like drunken sailors.&quot; The most likely beneficiaries of McCain fallout? Rudy Guiliani and Fred Thompson.— <em>M.S.</em></p>
<p><strong><em>American Conservative,</em> July 16<br /></strong>In the cover story, Roger Scruton attempts to understand why conservatives have allowed the left to establish a monopoly on environmental issues, and why liberals want to keep it that way. Scruton delves into the nature of left-wing causes, which, he says, promise to &quot;justify&quot; their believers, provide enemies (&quot;enemies are helpful for defining your place in the world&quot;), and focus on someone to destroy rather than something to achieve. The environmental movement has constructed a religious orthodoxy around itself, feeding on zealotry rather than rational debate, he argues. And such a charged atmosphere &quot;disrupts the possibility of developing a proper political approach. Fertile disagreement gives way to imposed orthodoxy and viable solutions to impossible utopias.&quot; Conservatives are &quot;more respectful of human nature&quot; and realize that productive solutions will never be embraced if they are brought about &quot;by state power and imposed by law.&quot;—<em>D.S.</em></p>
<p><strong><em>Entertainment Weekly</em>, July 13</strong><br />As &quot;Pottermania&quot; builds, the cover story claims to reveal <a href="http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20044270_20044274_20046055,00.html">on-set secrets</a> from <em>Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix</em>. Alas, no real secrets here—just a pat celebrity interview plus a basic review. Daniel Radcliffe (who plays Harry) is a bit more mature now—off set, he has stubble on his chin. And the film's darker, too. &quot;If you're looking for a rah-rah Quidditch match,&quot; the article warns, &quot;you're out of luck this time around.&quot; Real-world conflicts, from the French resistance to the war on terror &quot;ricochet through every scene.&quot; … An article rates the <a href="http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20041669_20041686_20045660,00.html">best and worst celebrity blogs</a>. Rosie O'Donnell's rosie.com is funny, enthusiastic, and emotional. Grade: A. Britney Spears' britneyspears.com gets the lowest grade: D. It's gone downhill since Britney checked into rehab and discontinued the &quot;&uuml;ber-juicy 'stream of consciousness' section.&quot; The moral: Rehab is bad for blogging.—<em>J.L.</em><br /><br /><strong><em>New York</em>, July 16<br /></strong>The cover story is the much-discussed profile of Katie Couric. Comments from the surprisingly candid interview of the morning-show host turned CBS anchor&nbsp;make for easy commentator fodder. One of the most pounce-worthy has been Couric's statement that &quot;people are very unforgiving and very resistant to change&quot; and that the &quot;biggest mistake [CBS Evening News] made is we tried new things.&quot; The piece reveals a defensive Couric, who is reportedly &quot;moody&quot; and &quot;going through hell&quot; about the program's ratings plunge, and arrives at the not-so-original conclusion that she is caught between her UVA sorority-girl appeal and her true journalistic chops. <strong>…</strong> A celebrity interview goes meta as Sienna Miller talks about her new film, <em>Interview</em>, which is about, um, a celebrity interview. But the film is about the kind of celebrity interview &quot;that never really happens&quot;—that is, a &quot;soul-baring, life changing&quot; kind—which, Miller's interviewer admits, isn't going to happen in the pages of <em>New York</em>, either.—<em>M.S.</em></p>
<p><strong><em>New York Times Magazine</em>, July 22</strong><br />An article goes inside the Beverly Hills Playhouse, where acting coach and scientologist Milton Katselas is all but worshipped by his students. Despite the fact that Katselas' teachings are filled with nonsensical Scientology-inspired platitudes (softened here as &quot;useful self-help nostrums&quot;) and that students have left because of the &quot;unspoken pressure they felt to join the Church of Scientology,&quot; the article never makes any serious criticisms of the coercion tactics clearly at work. Instead, it settles for finding the real, if unsurprising, connection between Hubbard's religion of self-empowerment and actors: hubris. &quot;Katselas told me that if he sat down with the warring parties in Israel, he could broker a truce.&quot; <strong>…</strong> The cover looks at the emotional stresses facing women impregnated by donor eggs, a science that has outpaced our ability to parse its psychological and ethical implications. But the writer's own failed attempt to have a baby via a donor egg screams conflict of interest; not only is there no discussion of the egg donors' experiences (or the husbands'), but donor recipients come off as preoccupied with the social implications of their choice, obsessing over being &quot;outed&quot; in public or having to deal with &quot;resemblance talk.&quot;<em>—A.B.</em></p>
<p><strong><em>New York Review of Books</em>, July 19</strong><br />In the <em>New York Review of Books </em>special fiction issue is a powerful defense of filmmaker Werner Herzog's blend of fact and fiction in his documentaries. A comparison between the genius of Herzog's documentary <em>Little Dieter Needs To Fly </em>with his tepid fictionalized version, <em>Rescue Dawn</em>, argues that the staged scenes and invented dreams (&quot;metaphors not facts&quot;) Herzog injects into his documentaries are in search of &quot;another kind of truth, the portraitist's truth.&quot; Still, Herzog's reputation as intellectual cinema's golden bad boy may be unduly clouding critical judgment here; it's hard to imagine James Frey, JT Leroy, et al. getting the same front-cover defense. <strong>...</strong> Joyce Carol Oates reviews three novels about amnesiacs, invoking, along the way, nearly every major author of the past 100 years (Woolf, Sartre, Joyce, Amis, Murakami). Despite the erudite whirlwind, there are bizarre moments when Oates sounds like a <em>Rolling Stone</em> movie critic, calling one book &quot;[a] harrowing tour de force.&quot; She ultimately sums up our cultural interest with amnesia as being the attraction to a process that &quot;replicates the mysterious and seductive adventure of the yet unwritten/yet-unread text.&quot;<em>—A.B.</em></p>
<p> <strong><em>Vanity Fair</em>, August<br /></strong> In a posthumous <a href="http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/features/2007/08/halberstam200708">article</a>, David Halberstam asserts that President Bush has exploited historical precedent to justify his reckless political decisions. Halberstam debunks Bush's historical interpretations, arguing that the president has been stuck in a post-WWII dream world (where &quot;other nations admire America or damned well ought to&quot;), ignoring the more complicated lessons of Vietnam. He saves his strongest language, though, for Dick Cheney and Karl Rove—&quot;both highly partisan and manipulative, both unspeakably narrow and largely uninterested in understanding and learning about the larger world.&quot; Halberstam's ending arguments—that the current geopolitical scene is much less straightforward than the polarized world of the Cold War and that America, like the fallen empires before her, risks overextension—aren't novel, but they're warnings worth repeating. <strong>…</strong> Buzz Bissinger resurrects the Barbaro story in an epic-length <a href="http://www.vanityfair.com/fame/features/2007/08/barbaro200708">feature</a>. The article exhaustively re-examines the events surrounding the end of Barbaro's life, and Bissinger's gifts as a reporter are on full display here—the piece is chock-full of names, dates, and racing jargon. But Bissinger balances the facts with a narrative style that is (mostly) engrossing. Although, with refrains like &quot;Never fall in love with a horse,&quot; the piece's tone at times veers into <em>Old Yeller</em> territory.<em>—K.E.</em></p>
<p><strong><em> National Geographic</em></strong>, July The somber verdict of the <a href="http://www7.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0707/feature1/index.html">cover story</a> is that malaria will infect half a billion people this year, killing at least a million of them. The report follows the malaria crisis in Zambia, where 50,000 children die annually from the mosquito-borne illness. If these grim facts fail to enthrall morbid fascinations, the piece's three-paragraph play-by-play description of a mosquito biting into human flesh will not. <strong>…</strong> Don't let the sexed-up language describing bird mating distract you from the substance of an <a href="http://www7.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0707/feature3/index.html">article</a> on New Guinea's birds of paradise. Shaking the mental image of birds doing the &quot;jungle boogie&quot; may be difficult, but stay long enough to get to the part about how their forest discotheque is disappearing. <strong>…</strong> The power of the collective—&quot;swarm intelligence&quot;—awes in a <a href="http://www7.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0707/feature5/index.html">story</a> about companies taking tips from the behavior of ants and bees to improve their business models.— <em>M.S.</em></p>
<p> <strong><em>Weekly Standard,</em> July 16</strong> The <a href="http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/013/850gvneh.asp">cover story</a> digs into a controversy over Reading First, a federal grants program that is part of No Child Left Behind. Widespread hostility to the program partially stems from its preference for using phonics-based, scientific methods to teach kids to read. Most education schools and teacher organizations scoff at that approach, but the article outlines how phonics-based methods have revolutionized Virginia school's literacy scores and &quot;galvanized&quot; teacher morale. It's a powerful argument against the &quot;whole language&quot; method of teaching reading, where &quot;textbooks or any other kind of formal instruction material are eschewed&quot; in favor of open-ended, student-directed creative experiences. <strong>… </strong> An <a href="http://www.weeklystandard.com/Check.asp?idArticle=13849&amp;r=nkdmm">editorial</a> disdainfully pronounces that the party-line-eschewing, Iraq-withdrawal-advocating Republican Sens. Richard Lugar, George Voinovich, Pete Domenici, and John Warner are &quot;followers of conventional opinion.&quot; U.S. soldiers are making serious progress, Editor William Kristol argues, and now is the time to stand against the &quot;defeatism of the pre-9/11 Republicans&quot; and with those soldiers &quot;who understand why we fight, and why we can win.&quot;— <em>D.S.</em></p>
<p><em><strong> Newsweek</strong></em><strong>, July 16<br /></strong> The cover story claims to be about how <a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19651719/site/newsweek/">Barack Obama</a> is &quot;shaking up old assumptions about what it means to be black and white,&quot; but it really focuses on whether the biracial presidential candidate &quot;is black enough.&quot; At the State of the Black Union in Atlanta this past February, Cornell West accused Obama of sucking up to white voters while keeping the African-American community at arm's length. Black voters are &quot;excited by the color of his skin&quot; but &quot;wary of whites who think Obama represents a kind of deliverance.&quot; Ultimately, the article doesn't really take a stance on the Illinois senator's racial bona fides—it just points out that black voters haven't embraced Obama wholeheartedly. <strong>…</strong> Poisoned pet food made Americans suspicious of Chinese products, but an article argues that it's the Chinese themselves who should <a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19649894/site/newsweek/">fear for their health</a>. A full 20 percent of domestically sold goods fail to meet quality standards, and each year about 300 million Chinese contract a food-borne illness. What's the moral here? You're better off eating Chinese at an American restaurant than in Beijing.— <em>J.L.</em></p>
<p><strong><em> Sports Illustrated</em></strong>, July 2 and 8 The &quot;Where Are They Now?&quot; issue <a href="http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/hockey/nhl/06/26/watn.slapshot">features</a> the former minor-league hockey players who portrayed the Hanson brothers in the movie <em>Slap Shot</em>. Now all in their 50s, they still possess the zany meathead charm that made the film such a touchstone. Even today, <em>Slap Shot </em> fans &quot;recite its lines with the fluency, and the passion, of a preacher spouting Scripture.&quot; The only thing missing: an interview with the movie's screenwriter, Nancy Dowd, who is only quoted from letters she wrote to a <em>Slap Shot </em> Web site. <strong>…</strong> A <a href="http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/more/06/27/tour.de.france0702/">piece</a> investigates drug use in professional cycling: &quot;This drug drenched sport has been dirty for so long that the question is no longer, Who will win the Tour? It is, Can anyone win it clean?&quot; Much of the article centers on a <a href="http://www.slate.com/id/2169622/">new book</a> that implicates Lance Armstrong in doping activities. Armstrong, of course, denies this: &quot;I agree there are some f -- -- -- rats out there, with all the stuff we've seen. But sometimes, people come along with 12 cylinders.&quot;— <em>K.E.</em></p>Mon, 09 Jul 2007 19:08:00 GMThttp://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/other_magazines/2007/07/flock_of_liberals.htmlAlex BenensonKatherine EvansJuliet LapidosDavid SessionsMorgan Smith2007-07-09T19:08:00ZDemocrats reach out to religious voters.News and PoliticsWhat's new in Newsweek, Time, etc.2170080Alex BenensonKatherine EvansJuliet LapidosDavid SessionsMorgan SmithOther Magazineshttp://www.slate.com/id/2170080falsefalsefalseA Prius Goes 100 MPH?http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/todays_blogs/2007/07/a_prius_goes_100_mph.html
<p>Bloggers snicker about Al Gore III's arrest for speeding and drug possession, cheer the release of a BBC journalist in Gaza, and wonder in which of John Edwards' &quot;two Americas&quot; he got a $1,250 haircut.</p>
<p><em>A Prius goes 100 mph? </em>Al Gore III, the 24-year-old son of the former vice president, was <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/04/AR2007070400810.html">arrested Wednesday</a> while doing 100 mph in his Toyota Prius. Gore was carrying marijuana and a number of drugs (including Vicodin, Valium, and Xanax) for which he had no prescription. Bloggers marveled at the unexpected swiftness of the hybrid Prius.&nbsp;<strong>&nbsp;</strong></p>
<p>Nixguy at<strong> The Stump, </strong>AOL News' election blog, <a href="http://news.aol.com/elections-blog/2007/07/05/al-gores-son-busted/">writes</a>: &quot;What's been giving this story real legs … is that Al Gore III was caught in a Prius going 100 mph. First, it appears that the Gore family believes in what Senior Gore is selling. A Toyota Prius is probably not the most ideal mode of locomotion for a twenty-something young man. But on the other hand, it was going 100 mph? Who knew hybrids could go that fast? A subtle piece of advertising for hybrid technology amongst a personal tragedy.&quot; NotronWest at <strong>Sweet! </strong> <a href="http://notronwest.wordpress.com/2007/07/05/maybe-the-prius-isnt-that-bad-of-a-car-after-all/">echoes</a> the surprise: &quot;I guess I need to re-evaluate the purchase of my Volkswagen Passat. '<strong>Prius: environmentally friendly and almost fast enough to get away from the police.' </strong>&quot;<strong></strong>Clyde at<strong> Recycled Sip </strong> <a href="http://recycledsip.blogspot.com/2007/07/in-prius.html">speculates</a> on the Prius' new speed-demon reputation: &quot;I suspect that the Prius will soon become the chase vehicle of choice in California. I look forward to seeing Prius car chases on Fox News in the very near future.&quot;</p>
<p>Ed Morrissey at<strong> Captain's Quarters </strong> <a href="http://www.captainsquartersblog.com/mt/archives/010441.php">cautions his fellow conservatives</a>: &quot;[I]t's at the same level as the attacks on Jenna and Barbara Bush. We may dislike Al Gore's policies and sanctimony, but that shouldn't apply to his son. His misfortunes tell us nothing about his father's policy or sanctimony, and as an adult, Al III answers for himself. Attacking Gore through his son amounts to a cheap shot.&quot;</p>
<p>Rodger Thomas at <strong>Are We Lumberjacks? </strong> <a href="http://arewelumberjacks.blogspot.com/2007/07/dirty-laundry-here.html">writes</a> that it's too bad Al Gore's son will be missing the Live Earth concert: &quot;What has to be the worst aspect of the whole blow-up: being in treatment during Dad's Big Woodstock.&quot; </p>
<p>Read <a href="http://blogsearch.google.com/blogsearch?hl=en&amp;ie=UTF-8&amp;q=al+gore+III+arrest&amp;btnG=Search+Blogs">more</a> about Gore's arrest.</p>
<p><em>Hamas plays politics:</em> BBC reporter Alan Johnston <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6267928.stm">was released</a> Wednesday in the Gaza Strip after 114 days as a hostage. Hamas was influential in Johnston's release and <a href="http://www.nysun.com/article/57877">claimed</a> their involvement as proof of their political legitimacy. Bloggers celebrated Johnston's release and cast skeptical looks on Hamas' motives.&nbsp;<strong>&nbsp;</strong></p>
<p>On the <em>National Journal</em>'s <strong>The Gate</strong>, Jane Roh <a href="http://thegate.nationaljournal.com/2007/07/johnston_release_a_promising_s.php">sees</a> Hamas' action as a tiny positive step: &quot;Hamas' role in [the release] won't change the U.S. and EU boycott of its government, but could open a path toward better standing in the world community. … One thing going for Hamas so far is that its strong-arm tactics not only helped convince the Islamist Army of Islam to release Johnston, they also seem to be successfully dampening violence in Gaza.&quot;</p>
<p>Amrita at <strong>IndieQuill </strong> <a href="http://indiequill.wordpress.com/2007/07/05/alan-johnston-a-free-man/">advises caution</a> rather than an open embrace of Hamas: &quot;Lest you think Hamas, like King Ashoka on the battlefield of his victory, has decided to trade in the gun for some prayer beads and a turtledove, you should know that they haven't banned militias like the Army of Islam as they're needed for 'resistance' against Israel—but they have decreed that there will be no more kidnapping of journalists.&quot;<strong>&nbsp;</strong></p>
<p>Larkin at the lefty<strong> Wizbang Blue </strong> <a href="http://wizbangblue.com/2007/07/03/hamas-delivers-bbc-reporter-paul-johnston.php">finds</a> Hamas' benevolence embarrassing to the United States:<strong></strong>&quot;Hamas delivered him, while the Israeli and US-backed organized crime syndicate called 'Fatah' could not. … It appears they're delivering. Much to the consternation of the Bush administration and embittered neocons who've done everything they could do to destroy the democratically elected government of the Palestinian people.&quot;<strong></strong>Abdurahman, who blogs from Qatar on<strong> No Longer At Ease</strong>, also <a href="http://civilexpression.blogspot.com/2007/07/finally-alan-johnston-released.html">gives Hamas due credit</a>:<strong></strong>&quot;It took Hamas to take full control of Gaza for Alan to be released, Fatah is much weaker and was unable to pressure the kidnappers.&quot;</p>
<p>Read <a href="http://blogsearch.google.com/blogsearch?hl=en&amp;ie=UTF-8&amp;q=hamas+release+alan+johnston&amp;btnG=Search+Blogs">more</a> about Hamas and the release of Alan Johnston. </p>
<p><em>Yet another bad hair day</em>:The <em>Washington Post</em> found the <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/04/AR2007070401258.html">stylist</a> behind John Edwards' infamous $400 haircuts, learning that Joseph Torrenueva once charged Edwards $1,250 for a haircut (to compensate for two days lost work). Bloggers blast Edwards for his hypocrisy but also find the <em>Post</em>'s article &quot;silly.&quot;</p>
<p>Right-leaning poli-sci professor Steven Taylor at<strong> PoliBlog </strong> <a href="http://www.poliblogger.com/?p=12193">knows</a> which of the &quot;two Americas&quot; Edwards lives in: &quot;Since there are potential Edwards voters out there for whom $400 might pay the rent, it is symbolically problematic for the man to be paying such (and more) for what most people shell out $12 to have done.&quot;<strong></strong>Libertarian Doug Mataconis <a href="http://belowthebeltway.com/2007/07/05/john-edwards-the-little-people-and-400-haircuts/">agrees</a> on<strong> Below the Beltway</strong>: &quot;I don't care how much John Edwards pays to get his haircut. If he wants to spend $ 400 to get it done and can afford it, then that's his right. What I object to is John Edwards' phony populism.&quot; </p>
<p>Plenty of <a href="http://www.thecarpetbaggerreport.com/archives/11342.html">bloggers</a> <a href="http://blog.thedemocraticdaily.com/?p=6159">accuse</a> the <em>Post</em> of frivolity, but <strong>Ann Althouse</strong> <a href="http://althouse.blogspot.com/2007/07/have-you-heard-about-john-edwards-1250.html">figures out</a> why the story didn't die. &quot;But why is the friendly hairdresser coming forward with the story of a haircut that cost 3 times as much as the one that already drove people nuts,&quot; she asks. &quot;The hairdresser has feelings. He has pride. When Edwards was asked about that $400 haircut he posited that 'the haircuts were some kind of aberration given by &quot;that guy&quot; his staff had arranged.' &quot;</p>
<p>Read <a href="http://blogsearch.google.com/blogsearch?hl=en&amp;ie=UTF-8&amp;q=john+edwards+hair+&amp;btnG=Search+Blogs">more</a> about Edwards' ongoing hair troubles.</p>Thu, 05 Jul 2007 22:28:00 GMThttp://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/todays_blogs/2007/07/a_prius_goes_100_mph.htmlDavid Sessions2007-07-05T22:28:00ZNews and PoliticsBloggers on&nbsp;Al Gore III's arrest.2169910David SessionsToday's Blogshttp://www.slate.com/id/2169910falsefalsefalseLove Me Some Mitthttp://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/other_magazines/2007/07/love_me_some_mitt.html
<p><strong><em> Economist</em></strong>, July 7 A <a href="http://economist.com/world/na/displaystory.cfm?story_id=9441455">report</a> on hopeful GOP nominee Mitt Romney suggests that the <em>Economist </em> has been swept off its feet by the &quot;tall and handsome&quot; candidate who answers questions &quot;crisply and intelligently.&quot;&nbsp;He's not just a pretty face: As the governor of Massachusetts, he turned a $3 billion deficit into a $700 million surplus. He also single-handedly saved the Salt Lake City 2002 Winter Olympics. He's also tackled one of America's &quot;prickliest problems&quot; with his compulsory health-insurance plan. The article even swoons when naming why his candidacy might not succeed: &quot;Mr. Smooth of Massachusetts&quot; could possibly be &quot;too good to be true.&quot;<strong>…</strong> An <a href="http://economist.com/opinion/displaystory.cfm?story_id=9441314">opinion piece</a> questions the efficacy of the United Nations' millennium development goals, which take aim against poverty, disease, and illiteracy globally. At the halfway point, the <em>Economist</em> says that the program has so far been &quot;half crusade and half charade.&quot; The article frets, &quot;Poor countries can blame rich ones for not stumping up enough cash; rich governments can accuse poor ones of failing to deserve more money.&quot;— <em>M.S.</em></p>
<p><strong><em> Sports Illustrated</em></strong>, July 2 and 8 The &quot;Where Are They Now?&quot; issue <a href="http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/hockey/nhl/06/26/watn.slapshot">features</a> the former minor-league hockey players who portrayed the Hanson brothers in the movie <em>Slap Shot</em>. Now all in their 50s, they still possess the zany meathead charm that made the film such a touchstone. Even today, <em>Slap Shot </em> fans &quot;recite its lines with the fluency, and the passion, of a preacher spouting Scripture.&quot; The only thing missing: an interview with the movie's screenwriter, Nancy Dowd, who is only quoted from letters she wrote to a <em>Slap Shot </em> Web site. <strong>…</strong> A <a href="http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/more/06/27/tour.de.france0702/">piece</a> investigates drug use in professional cycling: &quot;This drug drenched sport has been dirty for so long that the question is no longer, Who will win the Tour? It is, Can anyone win it clean?&quot; Much of the article centers on a <a href="http://www.slate.com/id/2169622/">new book</a> that implicates Lance Armstrong in doping activities. Armstrong, of course, denies this: &quot;I agree there are some f -- -- -- rats out there, with all the stuff we've seen. But sometimes, people come along with 12 cylinders.&quot;— <em>K.E.</em></p>
<p><strong><em> Time</em></strong>, July 16 A <a href="http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1640436,00.html">cover story</a> on addiction starts out promisingly enough, with the writer confessing that by the time he was in his late&nbsp;20s, &quot;I'd poured down as much alcohol as normal people consume in a lifetime and plenty of drugs—mostly pot—as well.&quot; But the piece gets boring very quickly when it veers from tales of personal addictions to a dry catalog of how scientists are working to cure it. And insights like &quot;[a]lmost anything deeply enjoyable can turn into an addiction, though&quot; aren't exactly groundbreaking. <strong>…</strong> An <a href="http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1640380,00.html">article</a> about Facebook tracks the phenomenon of &quot;genuine grownup[s]&quot; with &quot;important and time-consuming job[s]&quot; getting sucked into the social-networking site. The writer has been adjusting to a new world of Facebook relationship politics: &quot;In the world of Facebook, friends don't drift apart. Either someone makes an active break, or the connection and the News Feeds go on forever. Get used to it.&quot; To this complaint from their parents, first-generation Facebook users can only smile knowingly and return to scrolling through their new wall posts.<em>—K.E.</em></p>
<p><strong><em>Entertainment Weekly</em>, July 13</strong><br />The <a href="http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20035285_20035331_20044629,00.html">cover story</a> charts the <em>Transformers</em> path from forgotten cartoon series to summer blockbuster. Directed by Michael Bay, king of noisy action flicks, and subsidized by GM, <em>Transformers</em> &quot;does double duty&quot; as &quot;a piece of entertainment and the world's most expensive toy commercial.&quot; <em>Transformers</em> movies must walk a difficult line between commercial viability and appealing to the devoted fanboys. A 1986 attempt flopped, but this time, some Transformers loyalists say Bay is &quot;wrecking their childhood.&quot; <strong>… </strong>A piece highlights the rising price of casting Tom Cruise. This time, it's in Germany, where government officials refused to allow Cruise's upcoming WWII film <em>Valkyrie</em> to be shot at the Benderlock war memorial. Why the ban on such a moneymaker? The government allegedly objected to Cruise's much-documented evangelizing for Scientology. While they later claimed the rejection had &quot;nothing to do&quot; with Cruise's religion, the verdict stood, and United Artists is seeking alternate filming sites in Germany.—<em>D.S.</em></p>
<p><strong><em>New York Times Magazine</em>, July 8</strong><br />A meditative cover profile of Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni doles out measured praise for the leader as it examines the emerging &quot;wait and see&quot; attitude of Israeli centrists made cynical by the co-failures of the left's &quot;outstretched hand&quot; and the right's &quot;iron fist&quot;. Livni, the daughter of rightist Irgun fighters, prot&eacute;g&eacute; of Ariel Sharon, and now a leading member of the moderate Kadima party, embodies the shift of Israeli politics toward an isolationist center. <strong>…</strong> An article combines science and anecdote to explore Williams syndrome, a cognitive deficiency whose sufferers have an overwhelming urge to connect socially but are unable to read the nonverbal cues that underlie human interactions. The tension between &quot;caring and comprehension&quot; in the charmingly awkward &quot;Williamses&quot; of the article reveals the fragile balance of the two traits in the human mind. Some cognitive scientists believe the study of the Williams paradox will perhaps yield the evolutionary keys to human sociability: &quot;a raw yearning to connect&quot; and &quot;fearfulness&quot; of others' reactions.<em>—M.S.</em></p>
<p><strong><em>Virginia Quarterly Review, </em>Summer Issue<br /></strong><em>New York Times</em> photographer Ashley Gilbertson's <a href="http://www.vqronline.org/articles/2007/summer/gilbertson-last-photographs/">piece</a> about his experience in Iraq is most rewarding for the photographs that accompany it. His writing brims with bromides (&quot;I had a craving that only Iraq could satisfy.&quot; &quot;Fear turns into a fact of life in Iraq.&quot;), and his psychological revelations are, well, less than revelatory: &quot;I have grown to accept that Americans will not stop dying because I take their pictures.&quot; But many of Gilbertson's photographs featured in the essay—an abandoned, rotting corpse; the disembodied dentures of a murdered woman—are profoundly heartbreaking. <strong>…</strong> A scathing <a href="http://www.vqronline.org/articles/2007/summer/casteen-shoot-the-messenger/">opinion piece</a> tells off the critics at <em>Poetry </em>magazine in no uncertain terms: &quot;[T]heir work tends toward the arrogant, masturbatory, spiteful, bombastic, and mean-spirited hatchet job.&quot; In true inside-baseball fashion, the article attacks <em>New York Times Book Review</em> writer David Orr, who criticized <em>New Yorker </em>writer Dana Goodyear for an article she wrote criticizing <em>Poetry</em>. A criticism of a criticism of a criticism seems a little tired at this point.—<em>K.E.</em></p>
<p><strong><em>Wired</em>, July <br /></strong>The cover story argues that original <em>Transformers</em> fanboys were loath to trust their precious childhood cartoon to Hollywood pyromaniac Michael Bay, who produced the insufferably self-righteous <em>Pearl Harbor </em>and the flop <em>The Island</em>. To the <em>Transformers</em> purists, hero Optimus Prime was originally something of an &quot;Allfather at a time when flesh-and-blood role models were increasingly few and far between.&quot; But more frightening than the prospect of Bay mishandling a previous generation's toys is the impact the movie may have on today's youths: The U.S. government has been all too eager to provide Bay with tanks, advice, and uniformed extras &quot;on the cheap&quot; for <em>Transformers</em>, which just so happens to &quot;put the American military in the middle of an alien civil war&quot; that begins with an attack on the Middle East. <strong>…</strong> A geeky futuristic narrative imagines a (supposedly) not-too-distant future where powerful mobile devices and microchips in everyday objects create a hybrid virtual/real world. Biometric IDs? Sure. But cell phones multitasking as &quot;mental safety sensors&quot; and &quot;hi-def projectors&quot;? Sounds like the iPhone got someone's overactive imagination all worked up.—<em>A.B</em></p>
<p> <strong><em>The New Yorker</em>, July 9</strong> An action-packed <a href="http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2007/07/09/070709fa_fact_anderson">article</a> on opium eradication in Afghanistan explores the lucrative—and recently forged—partnership between the Taliban and Afghan drug lords. Though the Taliban outlawed opium production during its reign, promoting it today gives it the opportunity to earn money, gain the allegiance of impoverished opium farmers, and give the finger to U.S.-led opium-eradication efforts. Contractors paid to enforce the counternarcotics efforts are frustrated. &quot;Good thing I'm not an idealist,&quot; one says. &quot;I'm just here for the money.&quot;<strong>…</strong> A feature on meteorites examines our endless attraction to the otherworldly. The piece centers on a purported meteorite that crashed through a home in New Jersey. After inciting a local media frenzy, the meteorite was ultimately found to be (spoiler alert!) faux. A Rutgers scientist's quote is the highlight of the piece: &quot;It sure looked like a meteorite, and it sure fooled me, that sneaky little devil. Well, if you keep on studying these objects, over time you'll see far fewer meteorites than meteor wrongs.&quot;— <em>K.E.</em></p>
<p><em><strong> Weekly Standard</strong></em><strong>, July 9<br /></strong> A by-the-numbers article assesses <a href="http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/013/825yndxx.asp">Nicolas Sarkozy's first few weeks</a> in the French presidency. A &quot;doer&quot; who &quot;means business,&quot; he stripped the proposed EU constitution &quot;of everything grandly 'constitutional' &quot; in favor of a &quot;leaner treaty&quot; that focuses on practicalities, like eliminating the unanimity requirement for decisions on security. Sarkozy's predecessors dictatorially ran France's foreign affairs solo, but the magnanimous Sarkozy consulted with representatives from the Socialist Party before heading to the EU summit. Anyone familiar with European politics will find the article too basic, but neophytes may appreciate the writer's quick summation of French goings-on. … Another article explains why <a href="http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/013/821ktlth.asp?pg=1">Rudy Giuliani</a> gets standing ovations at Christian universities. The former New York mayor supports gay rights, stem-cell research, and a woman's right to choose, but religious and social conservatives &quot;greet [him] warmly.&quot; Why? He's tough on terrorism, and conservatives think he'll be viable in the general election. After watching the Bush-led right wing take a beating, it seems that pragmatic Republicans are doing some compromising.— <em>J.L.</em></p>Mon, 02 Jul 2007 19:58:00 GMThttp://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/other_magazines/2007/07/love_me_some_mitt.htmlAlex BenensonKatherine EvansJuliet LapidosDavid SessionsMorgan Smith2007-07-02T19:58:00ZThe Economist is swooning over Mitt Romney, and&nbsp;Sports Illustrated finds out what happened to those guys from Slap Shot.News and PoliticsWhat's new in Time, Entertainment Weekly, etc.2169684Alex BenensonKatherine EvansJuliet LapidosDavid SessionsMorgan SmithOther Magazineshttp://www.slate.com/id/2169684falsefalsefalseTurning Brown Upside Down?http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/todays_blogs/2007/06/turning_brown_upside_down.html
<p>Bloggers react to the Supreme Court's decision on school integration programs and mark the death of the Senate immigration bill. </p>
<p><em>Turning</em> Brown <em>upside down?</em> With another 5-4 decision, the Supreme Court <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/us/AP-Scotus-Schools-Race.html?_r=1&amp;hp&amp;oref=slogin">rejected</a> race-based integration in Jefferson County, Ky., and Seattle. Chief Justice John Roberts delivered the decision, saying that &quot;the way to stop discrimination on the basis of race is to stop discriminating on the basis of race.&quot; But bloggers are honing in on the <a href="http://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/05-908.ZC1.html">concurrence</a> written by moderate Justice Anthony Kennedy.</p>
<p>On the <strong>Supreme Court School Integration</strong> blog established by the NAACP, constitutional lawyer Samuel Bagenstos <a href="http://scintegration.blogspot.com/2007/06/guest-blogger-roberts-v-kennedy-in.html">believes</a> Justice Kennedy's separate opinion will have more impact than the majority opinion: &quot;It recognizes that school districts have a constitutionally permissible role in alleviating the effects of private discrimination—and that they may take account of race in doing so, so long as racial classifications of individual students are used only as a last resort.&quot;</p>
<p>At <strong>SCOTUSblog</strong>, reporter Lyle Denniston <a href="http://www.scotusblog.com/movabletype/archives/2007/06/commentary_the_5.html">analyzes</a> Kennedy's thought process: &quot;What was fully on display on Thursday, amid a great deal of courtroom drama and soaring rhetoric, was the contest that is going on within the Court to influence Kennedy and his vote. And, in that contest, it can be argued that the Court's liberal bloc -- although it seems increasingly isolated on some of the bigger decisions -- is having a substantial effect on reinforcing Kennedy's instinct to keep staking out the middle.&quot;</p>
<p>&quot;The final thing worth noting about the opinion is that because Kennedy takes a position in between the plurality and the dissenters, his position may end up serving the same function as Justice Powell's <em>Bakke</em> opinion did,&quot; <a href="http://balkin.blogspot.com/2007/06/parents-involved-swan-song-or-bakke-for.html">notes</a> Jack Balkin at <strong>Balkinization</strong>. &quot;It will set the boundaries of future debate about the scope of race conscious policies. … It's good to be the Swing Justice.&quot;</p>
<p>Brad Hamlett, guest-blogging for <strong>Not Very Bright,</strong> <a href="http://notverybright.wordpress.com/2007/06/28/reverse-segregation-ended-by-supreme-court-by-brad-hamlett/">heralds</a> the end of &quot;reverse segregation,&quot; arguing that such programs only reinforce discriminatory practices. &quot;Both segregation and reverse segregation use the same means to achieve different ends, but the ends do not justify the means.&nbsp;…&nbsp;[We] are a sufficiently creative, intelligent society that we can develop a policy to promote diversity that doesn't use reverse segregation.&quot;</p>
<p>But Goldy at <strong>Horse's Ass</strong>, a lefty outpost on Washington state politics, is <a href="http://www.horsesass.org/wp-trackback.php?p=3098">concerned</a> with the court's direction: &quot;Seattle is gradually becoming a segregated school district. Those on the right who cheer this decision, and who cheer their success at establishing a rigidly ideological majority on the bench that has no use for the doctrine of <em>stare decisis</em> and no respect for the wisdom of those justices who came before them, will be held politically accountable for the consequences of their agenda. Unfortunately, politics will come four years too late to save our nation from the Roberts Court.&quot; </p>
<p> <a href="http://blogsearch.google.com/blogsearch?hl=en&amp;ie=UTF-8&amp;q=supreme+court+school+race&amp;btnG=Search+Blogs">Read more</a> about the today's Supreme Court decisions. In <strong><em>Slate</em></strong>, Walter Dellinger, Dahlia Lithwick, and Stuart Taylor Jr. <a href="http://www.slate.com/id/2168856/entry/2169342">discuss</a> &nbsp;the case.</p>
<p><em>Amnesty denied:</em> President Bush's <a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19475868/">immigration bill died</a> in the Senate Thursday after a cloture vote fell 14 votes short of the 60 needed to bring the bill to a vote. Bloggers, many of whom live-blogged the vote, see it as a victory for conservatives and a defeat for president Bush.</p>
<p>Ed Morrissey at conservative <strong>Captain's Quarter</strong> <a href="http://www.captainsquartersblog.com/mt/archives/010375.php">immediately mocked</a> a Senate-floor rant by Ted Kennedy: &quot;Well, no one bloviates like Ted Kennedy. It's more of what Durbin said, but just louder. However, I had to laugh when Kennedy said, 'Year after year, we've had the broken borders.'Yes! Exactly! Let's fix that before we start worrying about normalization! 'This bill is strong; it's fair and practical.' It's also about 20 hours old, and most of us haven't had the opportunity to review it properly—including most of Kennedy's colleagues.&quot; &nbsp;Jonah Golberg, on the <em>National Review</em>'s<strong> Corner</strong>, also <a href="http://corner.nationalreview.com/post/?q=ODZiNmNiZmMzZWNjNzViNTU1YzYwOTk0OWFiZTdlMzA=">dissected Kennedy rhetoric</a> on the spot: &quot;Senator Kennedy just shouted that the choice before the Senate on the immigration bill is between 'voting for our hopes, or voting for our fears!' … Fear is often quite reasonable.&nbsp; I have a reasonable fear of alligators. Hopes, meanwhile, are often irrational and goofy. I hope eating lots of cashews will give me laser-vision and super-strength.&quot;</p>
<p>Post-vote analysis commenced with <strong><em>Slate</em></strong>'s <strong>Mickey Kaus</strong>,<strong></strong>who's been flooding the zone with immigration coverage, <a href="http://www.slate.com/id/2169114/&amp;#fracaso">writing</a>: &quot;Fifteen Dems vote against cloture, making it unclear if Senator Reid has achieved what seemed to be his unadvertised dream: A failed bill he could blame on the Republicans.&quot; Pamela Gellar Oshry of <strong>Atlas Shruggs</strong> <a href="http://atlasshrugs2000.typepad.com/atlas_shrugs/2007/06/immigration-bil.html">concludes simply</a>: &quot;The people have spoken.&quot;</p>
<p><strong>BorderReporter</strong>'s Michael Marizco, a freelance writer who covers immigration issues in Arizona, <a href="http://borderreporter.com/blog/?p=207">posits</a> that the entire proceeding was a sham: &quot;There's no real interest in resolving immigration. The papers run the same, 'Congress wrestles with immigration,' story four times a year on average. Congress loves to pretend they control the memory-holes of information. Each time they run us through their circus, they pretend it's the first time.&quot; Cantiflas at <strong>The Daily Kos</strong> concurs, <a href="http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2007/6/28/11291/5733">calling the bill</a> inherently hypocritical: &quot;My own feeling has been that we need to pass legislation for the right reasons. We have secretly welcomed the Mexicans and their families to work &nbsp;in our country under a &quot;wink wink&quot; policy. … [The bill] didn't address either the real needs of these families who come to our country nor set up an orderly system to manage the border in the future. Immigration reform will remain, like the alcoholic on the couch, a real problem we can't have a real dialog about.&quot;</p>
<p>And the ever-amusing <strong>Wonkette</strong> places the immigration bill in the &quot;Department of I'll-Be-Back,&quot; <a href="http://wonkette.com/politics/dept'-of-i.ll-be-back/senate-pretends-to-kill-immigration-bill-again-273216.php">warning</a> that it's not over yet: &quot;The seemingly dead bill is just in the bathtub, about to burst out cackling (in Spanish) when Nancy Pelosi goes in there to seductively brush her hair.&quot;</p>
<p> <a href="http://blogsearch.google.com/blogsearch?hl=en&amp;q=immigration+bill+dies&amp;btnG=Search+Blogs">Read more</a> on the death of the immigration bill. </p>Thu, 28 Jun 2007 21:58:00 GMThttp://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/todays_blogs/2007/06/turning_brown_upside_down.htmlDavid Sessions2007-06-28T21:58:00ZNews and PoliticsBloggers on the Supreme Court's school decisions.2169396David SessionsToday's Blogshttp://www.slate.com/id/2169396falsefalsefalse